Kaijudo: The New Acolyte
by dicarten-ice
Summary: Ten years have passed. The Choten has disappeared, presumably dead, and a new enemy has emerged. Will Jacob's unique powers save the Kaijudo Masters, or will he be the cause of their destruction?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1—The Beginning

My entire world was turned upside down one day.

I was going as fast as I could on my skateboard to San Campion High School so that I wouldn't be late when I heard a blood-curdling scream emanate from a store I was right about to pass by. I should've just kept going, but my curiosity drove me to see what was going on. I stopped and picked up my skateboard and slowly eased the door open to look inside and got the surprise of my life.

I saw a werewolf. That's right. I'm talking about a giant, hairy wolf that's walking on its hind legs. It was digging through a pile of snack food kept on the checkout counted when I looked in.

I slowly tried to close the door again and back away, but I must have opened the door too far or something, because when I tried to close it I ended up ringing a bell.

A loud bell.

Needless to say, the wolf heard it and looked at me.

Giving up any act of trying to sneak out I ran as fast as I could, jumping onto my skateboard once I had enough room and going at full speed. I could hear the shop window break behind me and heard screams as the wolf thing gave chase, running after me.

Seeking a shortcut, I cut into an alleyway that would get me to the school faster, but the creature was faster than me and knocked me off my skateboard, sending me against the wall.

When I opened my eyes the creature was standing about ten feet away from me, getting ready to pounce. I held up my hands to try and protect myself and the wolf froze.

I lowered my hands to get a better look at what was going on, but it began to pounce again so I lifted my hands a second time.

Again, he froze.

I stayed like that for over a minute, waiting for somebody to notice. Finally, I heard people round the corner at the far end of the alley, but I was too scared to look, especially when I heard another growl.

The next thing I heard was "Get it, Squeaky!" before a large, dark purple…thing attacked the wolf, turning it into a bunch of leaves that dissipated.

I stood there in terror for a couple seconds longer before my body remembered how to work.

I grabbed my skateboard and took off, yelling "Thank you!" over my shoulder unknown savior. Once I rounded the corner I jumped back onto my skateboard to go to school.

I barely managed to make it to school before the bell, but the teachers are pretty used to seeing that from me.

I was nervous and jumpy during every class that day, constantly replaying the scene over and over in my head. If the teachers noticed that I was acting differently than I usually do, they didn't comment.

During lunch I sat by myself, as usual, so I had even more time to think about it. Eventually I just pulled out my sketchpad and started drawing whatever came to mind. I doo it whenever I'm stress or can't focus on homework, and it usually works.

This time, though, every picture was either the wolf-thing that attacked me that morning or the creature that destroyed it. Eventually, I began thinking about the voice I heard commanding the second creature. It definitely sounded young and female, but beyond that I couldn't tell you anything.

At the end of school I tossed my homework into my messenger bag, which fortunately escaped the attack unscathed, made sure my beanie was on comfortably, and grabbed my skateboard from my locker before closing it and walking out of the building to go home.

"You're welcome, you know," a very similar voice said from behind me right as I passed a lamppost.

It was the voice from the alley.

I froze in my tracks, paralyzed by fear. I slowly turned around and faced the speaker. She's in her early 20's, not tall but not short, and was dressed in purple and black clothes.

"Um…" I said, not sure what to do or say.

"I'm Allie," she told me, holding out her hand.

I slowly reached out my hand and shook hers. "Jake," I replied, keeping my eyes out for the creature.

"Oh, she's not here," she told me, noticing my nervous glances. "I need you to come with me. Now," she added, her laid-back appearance becoming completely serious.

I was considering making a run for it, but she must have realized it and added, "If I have to, I'll summon Squeaky and have her take you with me," while pulling on a strange black glove that turned purple.

"O-okay, I'll go with you," I stuttered.

"Excellent," she said, grin appearing on her face.

Soon we began walking through the streets of San Campion to…who knows where?

A few minutes later the woman, Allie, asked me, "What do you know of the creature that attacked you this morning?"

"Nothing," I replied. "What was it? It looked like a werewolf."

"They are often confused as werewolves," Allie said. "I'll explain more when we arrive."

"Arrive where?" I demanded.

"Here," she replied, stopping outside a martial arts dojo.

We walked inside and past a martial arts class to an office in the back.

Sitting at the desk was an elderly Chinese man with a kind smile and a lot of green clothing.

"Hello there, Master Underhill!" he said cheerily to Allie.

"Oh, you know you can just call me 'Allie'," she reminded him. "I have a new acolyte," she added, gesturing to me.

The man just nodded and pressed a button on the desk. The next thing I knew, I was being ushered down a staircase located behind the mirror!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2—Kaijudo

Disclaimer: I do now own Kaijudo, only my OCs.

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"That creature that attacked you this morning is known as a Fear Fang," she explained. "It is from a mystical world known as the Kaiju Realm."

She went on to explain the Kaiju Realm and what Kaijudo is as we walked around the underground complex, which she told me is the Kaijudo Temple.

"Because you saw the Fear Fang, you have choices," she told me as she led me up some more stairs to a large room with a table that had five chairs behind it. Three others were gathered behind it in three of the chairs. Two of them were guys Allie's age, and one of them is African-American with blue-themed apparel and the other is Japanese-American with red-themed clothing. The last one is a man in his late 40's wearing mainly yellow clothing.

"Your first choice is to have your memory erased and go on with your life as if nothing happened," she explained.

"What's the second option?" I asked her. I did not want my memory erased.

"You become a Kaijudo Acolyte and learn to control creatures like the Fear Fang," the guy in red commented. He stood and introduced himself as Raiden Pierce-Okamoto, but everyone just calls him 'Ray' or 'Master Pierce'.

I thought over the choices.

Two seconds later I looked at them and said, "I wish to become an Acolyte."

"Great," the guy in blue told me. His name is Gabriel Wallace, but he prefers people call him 'Gabe' or 'Master Wallace'. "Please come with me so that I can show you around the Temple."

"Not so fast, Gabe," Allie said, getting in his way. "I brought him here, so I'll show him around."

"Hey, hey, hey," Ray said, standing between them. "How about all three of us show him around?"

I watched their negotiations with slight envy towards their friendship. Normally I'm fine by myself, but in times like these I feel more alone.

They agreed to show me around together and led me through the Temple, stopping by in the area where the gloves, known as gauntlets, are made to get me a practice gauntlet.

"This is so cool," I commented, pulling the glove on. It was a bit too tight at first, but I felt something inside me release and the glove instantly fitted itself to my hand, turning red like Ray's gauntlet, but without the gold or green mixed in.

"How'd you do that?" Allie asked me. "You just activated your gauntlet."

"I don't know," I told them. "Something just clicked inside me when I thought that it was too tight, and this happened."

"Looks like he already has some control over his mana, being able to do that without trying," Gabe commented.

They all looked at me expectantly, but I was lost. Allie explained mana to me and its uses, but I had never heard of it before then.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I told them. "I've never even heard of this stuff until All—I mean, Master Underhill told me."

"Just call me 'Allie'," she told me. "It's easier."

I nodded and they seemed to believe me, so they led me on to the library, where I was struck by awe just looking at all the different tablets.

"Whoa, check the time," Allie said when we finished the tour.

I checked my watch and almost swore. My mom would be home in five minutes.

"I'll give you a ride," Gabe told me.

We ran back up to the street level and climbed into a blue sedan that belongs to Gabe.

"Where do you live?" he asked me. I directed him in the correct direction.

"Here," he added as I began to climb out, holding out a sheet advertising the martial arts studio. "Show this to your mother. It'll help explain things if you come home late one day."

"Thank you," I told him. "For everything."

He smiled back. "Anytime."

As he pulled away I ran inside and was relieved when my mother wasn't home. My dad died about ten years ago in a car crash, so it's just the two of us.

"Honey? Are you home?" she asked as she walked through the door.

"Right here, Mom," I yelled from my room, stashing the gauntlet, which I managed to change back into its glove form.

Right as she opened the door I pulled out the paper for the martial arts studio and made it look like I had been staring at it for a while, even though I had been home for roughly forty-five seconds.

"How was school?" she asked, opening the door wider.

"It was fine," I replied, using the same answer I always use.

"What's that you've got there?" she asked me, reaching for the paper.

"Its an advertisement for a martial arts studio," I told her, handing her the sheet.

"Martial arts, huh?"

"Yep." Normally she's against violence of any sort, so I'd need extra motivation. "It would be a good way for me to socialize, make friends," I added. She's always been pushing me to make friends.

"Well, it sounds like a good idea," she said. "I think it would be okay if you took some lessons. When are they?"

I told her the first number that came to mind. "Every day, after school," I told her.

"Every day?" she asked. "What about your schoolwork?"

"I'll be fine," I told her. "You know I always get my work done."

She nodded, acknowledging that I had a valid point. "Alright, you can do it," she told me. "Just make sure you call to let me know if you have to stay late."

"Thank you!" I said, hugging her tightly. "Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome," she replied. "You know, I've never seen you express so much interest in something before. Usually you're bored five minutes after you start something."

I nodded, not really paying attention as I put the paper on my desk and followed her out to the kitchen for dinner.

The next day I even got a new surprise at lunch: friends.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3—Friends

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I had been sitting at my table for only a couple minutes when I saw two people approach, a boy and a girl my age.

"Hey, can we join you?" the girl asked me. She was wearing all purple, has light brown hair and dark gray eyes.

"Um, sure," I replied, moving my bag off of a vacant chair. I wasn't really used to people talking to me other than a question about class work.

"I'm Emma Smith," she told me. "This is John Williams," she added, gesturing to the guy, who's a bit shorter than me but a lot more muscular. He has short, dark brown hair and green eyes.

I introduced myself as well, and as they sat down I noticed that the girl had the edge of a Kaijudo glove sticking out from her pocket.

"So, did the Masters send you to make sure I have friends and stay safe?" I asked them quietly.

Emma acted as if I never asked the question and instead started asking me questions: my favorite color, foods, music, and more.

"I'm sorry if she gets a bit…excited," John said. "To tell you the truth, the Masters had us make sure you stay safe. Plus, the two of us don't have many friends, either. This helps all of us make friends."

"Thanks," I replied.

"Do you skateboard?" Emma asked me, noticing my skateboarding shoes.

"Yeah, I do," I replied. "My board's in my locker."

"That's so cool!" she said. "I've always wanted to learn how to skateboard!"

"I'd like to see you learn," John mumbled.

Emma punched his arm lightly, but before we could say anything more the bell rang to dismiss us to our next class, which we happened to share.

In that class they sat next to me, which brightened my mood for the rest of the day.

When the final bell rang to end the school day I walked to my locker, where I grabbed everything I would need and made sure I had my gauntlet with me before grabbing my skateboard, pulling on my beanie, and meeting John and Emma out front.

"Cool board," John told me when I walked out.

"Thanks."

"Let's get going!" Emma said, dragging us along. "We're gonna be late for training!"

As she and John began running to the Temple entrance I jumped on my skateboard and was soon keeping pace with them.

"If I were in your place, I would've fallen off several times by now," John admitted when he saw me. "I'm not great at keeping my balance on stuff like that."

"Eh, it doesn't look very hard," Emma said, looking over at me.

To prove her wrong I jumped and did a nose grab as the others ran down the stairs. Then, to make myself look like an idiot, I messed up the trick on accident, wiping out on the landing.

Right as I was about to hit the ground I held out my hands, which I should've known not to do, and a blue sphere surrounded me, allowing me to regain my balance and stand upright.

"How did you just do that?" Emma asked me when they reached the bottom and John went to retrieve my board, which survived the fall without a scratch. It has survived many a wipeout. "You didn't have your gauntlet on."

"I…I don't know," I said, examining my hands. "What was it?" I asked her.

"A mana shield. Kaijudo duelists create them to protect themselves from attacks, but they need their gauntlets on," she explained. "We need to tell the Masters about this."

I carried my board as we ran the rest of the way to the martial arts studio.

"Where's the dude who was here last time?" I asked them when we arrived in the office.

"Master Kimora? He's probably in the Temple with the other Masters. He just comes up here whenever a new acolyte arrives," John explained as he pushed the button to reveal the hidden passage.

We walked down the stairs, careful not to run in case we tripped.

"You're early today, young acolytes," Kimora said.

"Yeah, well, something strange happened today," I said. We explained what happened, and when we finished Kimora took us to the chamber with the table, where the other Masters were gathered.

"What's the rush, Master Kimora?" Ray asked as we approached.

"We have an odd case here," Kimora replied. He had us explain what happened to the Masters, and when we finished Allie looked like she remembered something.

"In the alley where I found Jacob and the Fear Fang, Jacob had his hands held up and the creature obeyed him," Allie explained. I recalled the event as well and explained everything that happened in the alley.

"You are a very odd case indeed," the Light Master, called Master Jameson, commented.

"It seems Jacob can manipulate his own mana without a gauntlet," Gabriel said. "That would explain why he was able to activate his gauntlet without trying very hard."

Kimora turned to me. "Have you had _any_ experience with Kaiju creatures before yesterday, any at all?" he asked me.

"No, I swear I haven't," I told them. I racked my memories for several minutes trying to think of anything that had to do with it, but nothing came up.

"It seems he was just born with the ability," Allie said. "It seems, though, that he can't control it. I believe that he should still train with the gauntlet, though, to allow him greater conscious control over his mana."

They voted on it and came to the same conclusion.

"Now, let's get you to training," Ray told the three of us. He, Allie, and Gabe stood up and led us to the library, where there was an endless amount of creature tablets.

"John and Emma, you have already found your partner creatures," Allie said.

Ray walked over to a table and picked up a tablet, which he then handed to me. "We are going to teach you how to summon and control creatures," he told me. "This will be the first creature you summon."

I looked at the tablet and read the name: Kenina the Igniter.

"Sounds cool," I commented about the name.

"Oh, she looks even cooler," Allie told me.

We went to a training arena and Gabe told John and Emma to summon their creatures. They pulled on their gauntlets, John's green and Emma's purple, and took turns. John went first.

He went through a series of movements and shouted, "Come, Dauntless Tusker!"

A strange rift appeared over his head with a symbol similar to the one over Kimora's chair, a green tree surrounded by a green circle, and a goat-like creature with a very large horn leaped out of the rift before it closed.

"Hey there, Tusker," John said, rubbing the creature's back. It's shoulder came up to John's so it was a fairly large creature.

Emma went next, going through a similar set of motions before calling out, "Come to me, Tygrif!" Again, a rift appeared, but this time the symbol was that of a purple skull surrounded by a purple circle. It's probably the symbol for darkness.

A strange creature emerged. It was a mix between a tiger and a griffon, and looked more fearsome than both.

"Hey there, Grif," Emma said, rubbing its head. It just stood there and watched us.

"To summon your creature, you must use your gauntlet to reach through the Veil and bring them here," Ray said. "Calling the creature's name directs the mana so that it brings back the correct creature."

To demonstrate Ray activated his gauntlet and slowly went through the motions so that I could see before calling out the name of his creature, Tatsurion the Unchained.

"Finally, some action!" Tatsurion roared when he emerged. Then he looked around and noticed Tusker and Grif. "Seriously?" he asked Ray. "I have to fight these guys again? Haven't I already crushed them?"

"Not now, Bob," Ray said, apparently referring to Tatsurion. "I needed to demonstrate. We can probably fight somebody later."

"Fine," he grumbled, sitting down beside Ray.

"Now, you do it," Ray told me, gesturing to the tablet.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4—Summoning

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I pulled on and activated my gauntlet and studied the tablet and the creature's information. Apparently it's a firebird, which brought pictures of phoenixes to mind.

Once I had the tablet memorized I handed it to Ray and used similar moves to them, but slightly different as I called out, "Come to me, Kenina the Igniter!"

I sensed something in the back of my mind click and saw the rift appear above my head and a small bird cloaked in fire flew out.

"Now, to summon your creature you must use your mana to influence it," Gabe explained. "Use your hands to direct it."

I took a deep breath and felt for my mana, even though I had no idea what to feel for.

Soon enough, though, I sensed a river of energy running through me. I plunged into it (mentally) and moved my hands around. Kenina mimicked me, flying around in wide circles before having it launch a fireball at Tatsurion to mess with him.

"Gah!" he yelled as he swatted the fire out of his face. "Don't surprise me like that!" he told me. "If it's a battle you want, it's a battle you'll get."

"Doesn't it seem a bit unfair if a beast as powerful as you battles Kenina?" Ray asked him.

He grumbled and sat back down.

"Good job with the attack," Allie complemented me. "Are you ready to try a battle?"

"Um, sure?" I replied.

Allie walked out onto the field with me as the others went up into the stands.

"Summon your creature," I told her.

As she did so I watched as, instead of Squeaky like I expected, a small skeleton creature appeared.

"This way it'll be a fair fight," she explained. "Now, let's duel."

I started the duel by launching Kenina in a fierce storm of fire against the creature, but it dodged out of the way and slashed at Kenina. The bird reacted faster than I, swooping out of danger and launching a fireball at the skeleton, turning it to smoke.

"Not bad for your first duel," Ray said.

"Thank you," I replied.

"Now, to dismiss your creature…" Gabe began. He continued for a few minutes to make sure I knew how to dismiss Kenina.

As he spoke I summoned Kenina to stop right on front of me before I offered out my arm to her. She looked at it a second before gently landing on it.

"Nice," Ray said, noticing what was happening. "Not very many people succeed with that on their first try."

"Thanks," I replied before dismissing Kenina.

"Now that you know how to summon, battle, and dismiss creatures, you need to use creatures from the different Civilizations so that you can have a better understanding," Allie said, pulling four other tablets from a bag she had at her side.

She handed me the first one and had me summon it. It was an Essence Elf, from the Nature Civilization. It was a bit harder for me to summon than Kenina, but Gabe explained that it was due to my lower level of mana.

To fix that problem they had me summon a creature from the Light Civilization that is somehow able to restore a duelist's mana levels so I could keep going.

"Tomorrow we will continue your training," Allie said, signaling that my training was over. However, John and Emma still needed training, so I sat in the stands and watched for a few minutes before venturing down to the library. The sheer number of tablets was awe-inspiring.

I looked through the Fire Civilization section for the rest of their training time, finally stopping when I saw a creature that stood out to me.

"Dragon Knight Volaron," I muttered when I saw the tablet. It was a hybrid Fire/Light creature, immensely powerful.

"You aren't strong enough to summon that creature yet," Allie said, walking up to me. "It's a good choice, though. I don't think he's been summoned in over a century."

I didn't want to put the tablet back in fear of losing the spot, so Allie let me keep the tablet out on the table.

As I walked out of the Temple I couldn't stop thinking about that creature. Something about Dragon Knight Volaron stood out to me. I wasn't sure what it was, but one thing I _was_ sure about was that one day, I would summon him.

"How were martial arts lessons?" Mom asked me when I got home.

"They were great," I replied. "I had a lot of fun, and even made a couple friends."

"What?" she asked, almost giving herself whiplash as she turned to face me. "That's great!"

She made me talk about Emma and John over dinner, so I was constantly talking between bites.

"I need to go do my homework," I told her when we had taken care of dinner. She nodded and I went to my room.

I managed to get all of my work done fairly quickly and had plenty of extra time, so I pulled out my sketchpad and pencils and drew some more. Most of the drawings were of the creatures I had summoned that day or Volaron, but not the last one. My last sketch was of John, Emma, and I hanging out.

"I'm gonna need another sketchpad," I told myself as I tossed the full sketchpad onto a pile of filled ones. I made sure to write a note to myself before falling asleep that night.

That night I had a strange dream. I was walking down a strange, white hallway with countless doors, but none of them would open for me so I kept going until I reached the end of the hallway, there was another door. This one was unlocked, though, so I opened it and got a glimpse of a screen covered in unfamiliar text before my alarm went off, waking me up.

"Why are you leaving so early?" Mom asked me as I started to leave fifteen minutes earlier than usual.

"I need to buy a new sketchpad," I explained, making sure I had my wallet for the tenth time before walking out and jumping on my skateboard.

"You go through these things pretty fast," said the owner of the store I buy my art supplies at as I started to pay for another sketchpad.. He has a kind smile that always cheers you up.

"Yeah, I do. I like to draw a lot," I explained, handing him the correct amount of money. "Did you put them on sale this week?" I asked, noticing the decrease in price.

"Yeah. All sketchbooks are 25% off," he told me.

"Well, in that case…" I grabbed another sketchpad and returned to the counter.

"Thank you for your business," he told me when I paid for it all.

"Any time. Have a nice day," I replied.

"You, too."

When I got outside I put the books in my bag and rode my skateboard to school, arriving a bit early for once.

"Where were you?" Emma asked me, walking up to me at my locker.

"I had to buy some more sketchpads," I replied, setting my board in my locker and grabbing the books I'd need for my first classes.

"You draw?" she asked, eyes widening.

"Yeah, a bit," I said. "I'm not great, though."

"Will you draw me something?" she asked me. "It doesn't have to be much."

"I'm not sure. I just draw whatever comes to mind. If I try to force it, the drawing ends up looking a lot worse," I explained.

"Oh, okay," she said.

I closed my locker and we walked to homeroom. We talked a bit before going to our first class of the day, gym.

"Look at the newest charity case," a voice said when John, Emma, and I stood next to each other. I turned around and confirmed my suspicions.

It was Miles Johnson, the school bully. He's in his senior year of high school, no brains but all brawn. He's six feet 3 inches tall, so he's taller than almost everyone and stronger than all but John as far as I can tell.

"Oh, lay off him, Miles," Emma said, coming to my defense. "Don't you have some freshmen to scare?"

"Only on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays," he said. "Today's a Thursday."

"Congratulations, you know what day of the week today is," I commented, looking him in the eye.

He walked over and grabbed me by the front of the shirt. "You think you're funny, DiCarten?" he growled.

"I know I'm funny, Johnson," I replied coolly. He was only four inches taller than me, so he wasn't extremely intimidating heightwise.

He released me and was about to take a swing when the teacher walked out of his office. "Mr. Johnson!" the teacher shouted. "What did I tell you about fighting?"

"He hit me first, Mr. James," Miles lied.

"That's a lie!" Emma, John, and I said at the same time. "I didn't do anything to him!" I told Mr. James.

He narrowed his eyes at us. "I don't want to see fighting between you two," he told us before taking attendance on a clipboard.

That day we were playing baseball, so Mr. James chose two captains, Miles and John. John's first choice was Emma, of course, and Miles chose one of the baseball players. John chose me after that, and Miles chose another baseball player, a friend of his. After that John and Miles tried to get the best baseball players remaining.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5—Gym Class

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"You didn't have to pick me so early," I told John as we grabbed gloves from the school's small supply and took to the field. "Miles never would've chosen me."

"That's what friends are for," John said. "Hasn't one of your friends ever chosen you for a team?"

"I haven't had friends in a while," I replied before running out to right field. I'm a fairly good baseball player, but don't like to show it.

The first batter at the plate was one of the baseball players, so our pitcher threw a tricky pitch to try getting a strike, but the player managed to crank it into a pop fly that went deep into right field.

I took off, running as fast as I could manage while keeping my eye on the ball.

I was five feet from the ball as it reached eye level, so I dove forward and barely managed to catch the ball on the very tip of my glove.

When the rest of my team realized that I caught the ball they cheered and the player ran to the dugout, mad that he got out on his first hit.

As the game progressed the other team managed to get a single run before we switched sides.

"DiCarten, you're batting third," John told me as one of the people on our team went up to bat. She managed to bunt the ball, but weren't fast enough to get to first base in time, so she was tagged out.

The next batter managed to get a hit on their second pitch, getting them to first base as I walked up to the plate, picking up the bat he used so that I could use it.

"Wait, I'm gonna pitch this one," Miles said, walking up to the pitcher with a wicked grin on his face.

I frowned as the pitcher left the mound and Miles grabbed the ball. His first pitch was a little too close for comfort, but Mr. James still called it a strike. I managed to hit the ball on the second pitch, but it went foul.

I saw the look on his face as he wound up for the third pitch and knew that, no matter what, I was going to hit that ball as hard as I could.

He threw the ball and it went right down the middle, perfect for me to hit. I took a step and swung the bat, smashing into the ball.

Everyone watched it soar out into center field. I half-expected someone to catch it, but when it hit the ground the guy on first base and I took off at full speed, easily advancing one base by the time the center fielder got to the ball, and the person already on base had to slide into third base while I arrived safely at second.

When John went up to bat, though, things got interesting.

"Come on, John!" I heard Emma shout from the dugout. John just smiled and hit the ball harder than I did, sending it over the fence.

Needless to say, our team won the game.

"Good hits out there," I told John as we changed back into our regular clothes at the end of class.

"Thanks. You did pretty good, too. Why haven't you played baseball before?"

I shrugged. "Never interested me, I guess," I replied.

The next few classes went by smoothly, and during lunch the three of us sat at our table again. John and I ate in silence while Emma talked endlessly about school, homework, and what she does after school, which consists of Kaijudo practice, studying Kaijudo, and thinking about Kaijudo.

After a few minutes of listening to her I pulled out one of my new sketchpads and a pencil and began drawing the first thing that came to mind, Emma's Tygrif creature.

I finished the drawing right before the bell rang, so as we walked out of the cafeteria I tore out the page and handed it to Emma. "There you go," I told her. "There's your drawing."

"It's so realistic!" she said. "It would look even cooler in color."

"Sorry, but I don't have any colored pencils," I replied. "I hope to get some for my birthday, though, which is coming up."

"Cool!" Emma added. "Oh! You should make one for John!"

"You don't need to do that," John told me.

"If I draw one that I think you'll like, I'll give it to you," I replied. He kept saying it wouldn't be necessary, but I insisted, so he agreed.

"I can't wait 'til school's over," Emma groaned as we walked out of trig class. She hates math. "School is so boring."

"Very true," I agreed.

That day school had an early dismissal, so we got out an hour early.

"I love early dismissals!" John shouted as we emerged from the school.

"What do you guys usually do one days like these?" I asked them, jumping over the stairs on my skateboard.

"We usually just walk around the city," Emma explained. "What about you?"

I got a mischievous grin on my face. "It would be easier if I just showed you," I told them. I led them through several streets and an alleyway before we arrived at a rusty gate with a sign reading, 'NO ENTRANCE. CONSTRUCTION SITE'.

"Um, shouldn't we listen to the sign?" Emma asked.

"Don't worry, nobody's been around here for years," I told them, opening the gate to reveal a construction site. "I found this place one time a few years back and moves stuff around to create an improvised skate park," I explained. "This is how I learned to be such a good skateboarder."

"It looks pretty dangerous," John commented, looking at the construction equipment.

"Oh, where's your sense of adventure?" Emma asked, running around the site and looking at the large pipe section set to one side.

"Can we see some moves?" John asked me.

"Sure," I replied.

CAUTION. DO NOT DO WHAT I AM ABOUT TO DO. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS AND COULD GET YOU SERIOUSLY HURT.

I ran up a set of stairs and jumped off, landing on my skateboard and grinding down a large beam I managed to get to the top of the stairs, jumping off at the bottom to do a nose grab. I did a few more tricks before stopping in front of them and stepping off my skateboard.

"That was awesome!" Emma screamed.

"Don't shout," I told her. "I don't want to attract any attention."

They explored the site a bit more while I practiced a few new moves I learned recently. I wiped out a couple times, but used my mana shield to protect myself from injury.

"We should get going," John said thirty minutes later. "I don't want to be late for training."

"Good point," I said. We left the site and I closed the gate behind us before following.

"How do we get from the Temple from here?" Emma asked when we emerged from the alley.

"It's right there," I told her, pointing to the martial arts studio, which was five buildings down the road.

We walked over to it and used the secret entrance to access the Temple.

"Your training today will be a field mission," Ray told us when we arrived. We went to an area where Master Jameson was viewing footage from hundreds of Stalker Spheres around the cities.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6—Field Mission

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"We have recently received footage of a pair of Fear Fangs wandering around the western edge of the city," Master Jameson told us, pulling up a video of two Fear Fangs walking down an alley, where a dark figure held out a hand that calmed the creatures. "This figure is apparently controlling the creatures," he added, increasing the size of them. "As you can tell, this person is not wearing a gauntlet. We believe that this person has the same talent as Jacob."

"Your job is to get rid of the Fear Fangs and, if possible, apprehend the duelist controlling them," Allie said. "You are allowed to use whatever creatures you need."

I perked up at hearing that. I might be able to summon Dragon Knight Volaron for the first time.

Allie noticed. "Not you, Jacob," she told me. "Due to your lack of knowledge of creatures you can summon, I want you to stick with the five creatures you summoned yesterday."

I shrugged and we ran out to deal with the Fear Fangs on my first mission.

"What was your first mission?" I asked them as we left the martial arts studio.

"A small group of Memory Swarm creatures escaped and we had to chase them down," John said.

"We followed those things into the smallest crevices, and it took us a week to find and banish every one," Emma said.

About ten minutes later we arrived in the right part of the city so we pulled on our gauntlets and activated them before beginning our search for the Fear Fangs, starting in the alleyway they were first spotted in.

"This may take a while," I said after we had been searching for fifteen minutes.

The search soon stopped, though, when we heard screams coming from the other end of the alleyway.

We went to the sound as fast as we could, prepared for a duel. Sure enough, we found the two Fear Fangs standing in front of a woman that looked scared out of mind.

John and Emma summoned their creatures as I summoned Kenina.

"Attack!" we all commanded at once, directing our creatures at the Fear Fangs.

Before they could attack, though, the look on the woman's face turned from fear to cruelty as she stood up and directed the Fear Fangs at our creatures.

"Whoa…" I said. I did not see that coming.

I soon regained focus, though, as our creatures managed to take down the Fear Fangs.

"We need you to come with us, ma'am," John told the woman.

"Over my dead body, boy," she said. "Rise, Aqua Trooper XJ-3!"

Another rift appeared over her head and a large robotic creature leaped out of the void and wiped out all of our creatures with one blow, attacking before we could defend.

"None of our other creatures are powerful to defeat it!" Emma said as it advanced toward us.

"I think I might know one," I said. Allie told me not to, but we didn't have another choice.

I took a deep breath and held a picture of Volaron in my mind as I performed the moves and shouted, "Come, Dragon Knight Volaron!"

A very large rift appeared over my head with the symbols for the Fire and Light Civilizations appeared in the middle before a creature slightly larger than Tatsurion emerged. I'm not sure how to describe his appearance, but it was very intimidating.

"Who dares to summon me?" it demanded.

"I do," I said, feigning confidence.

He looked down at me and frowned. "You are just a small child."

"Actually, I'm kinda tall for my age," I replied. "Whatever. I need you to duel with me."

He didn't look happy about it, but got over it. "Fine. Who are we battling?"

"That," I said, pointing at the Water creature.

As I spoke the creature leaped at Volaron, slicing at his chest with its blade. He barely felt it.

I was barely able to direct Volaron, but when I finally got him to follow my commands he destroyed the creature.

Unfortunately, the woman got away.

"You are a strong dueler," Volaron told me.

"Thanks," I replied. He lowered his hand and I climbed onto it so that I look at him eye-to-eye. "By the way, my name's Jacob, but you can just call me 'Jake'."

He observed me closely for a minute longer before nodding. "Alright, I'll do it," he said.

"Do what?" I asked.

"Fight at your side," he explained. "You have great potential, and I wish to be your partner."

"It's nice to meet you, then," I replied. "Can I just call you 'Volaron', though? 'Dragon Knight Volaron' is just too much of a mouthful to say when referring to you."

"You might as well, seeing as you allow me to call you a name other than your true one," he said.

"It's nice to meet you, Volaron," I told him.

"Likewise," he replied. "Now, send me back to my home."

I nodded and he set me on the ground so that I could banish him.

"Whoa," John commented. "You just controlled _that_?"

"Kinda. More like he did what I asked. I'm not powerful enough to completely control him yet," I replied. "We should get back to the Temple now," I advised them.

They nodded and we went to the Temple as fast as we could, stopping halfway there to rest. I just rode my board the rest of the way.

"Congratulations on defeating the creatures," Master Kimora told us when we got back and explained it all to them.

"It worries me that there are those out there without gauntlets causing havoc," Master Jameson commented.

"I agree," Gabe said.

"How were you able to defeat such a powerful creature with the ones you had?" Allie asked us. We hadn't mentioned Volaron yet.

"Well, none of the creatures we had summoned would've worked, so…" I began.

"Yes?" Allie asked, urging me to continue.

"I summoned Dragon Knight Volaron to defeat it," I said.

"You summoned _who_?" Gabe demanded at the same time Allie said, "I told you that you aren't ready to control him."

"You knew that he heard about that creature?" Gabe asked her.

"What's the big deal?" I asked them.

"Dragon Knight Volaron has a, well, I guess you could say he has a 'bad reputation' with duelers," Ray said. "Last time someone summoned him, he accidentally squished the duelist as he entered this realm."

"Whoa," I muttered. "He didn't hurt me, though. He was actually fairly willing to work with me, too."

"Yes, but you could've gotten seriously hurt," Kimora said. "That is a very powerful monster, and it takes a very powerful duelist to keep him in line."

"Masters, Jacob was able to successfully duel with Volaron and defeat the other creature," Emma said in my defense. I quietly thanked her before turning back to the Masters.

They conversed among themselves for a minute before turning back to us.

"We realize that you were able to control Volaron, and we will allow you to summon him in the future, but we request that you learn to control your powers more before you summon again," Ray told me.

"Thank you, Masters," I replied.

After that they dismissed us so we left to go to our own houses and I went home.

"How did lessons go?" Mom asked when I got home.

"Pretty good," I replied. "How was work?"

"Same."

That night I was right about to fall asleep when there was a light tap at the window.

I looked over at the window and, a few seconds later, there was another tap.

I grabbed my gauntlet from my bag and pulled it on, activating it as I walked over to the window.

"Psst!" Emma whispered from right outside the window.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded as I opened the window.

"The Masters need our help," she replied.

"Seriously? It's ten o'clock at night," I said.

"I know, but apparently this is serious," she replied. I could see John's outline in the background, lit by the light of the moon.

"It had better be, because if I get caught I'm dead," I told her as I pulled on my sneakers and hoodie.

"You might want to try something a bit stealthier," she suggested, gesturing to the red and yellow hoodie I had on.

"Good point." I pulled it off and pulled on a black jacket.

When I was ready to go I climbed out the window and shut it behind me, making sure it was unlocked.

"What do they need us for?" I asked her.

"The creatures being contained in the Vault got too powerful for the door to hold back, so they're loose in the Temple," John explained.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7—Creatures Loose

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"Oh. That's bad, right?" I asked, not knowing what the Vault is.

"Very bad. The Vault contains the strongest, most unstable creatures," Emma explained.

"Oh."

We ran in silence, passing through the dark streets of the city before finally arriving at the entrance. The ground was lightly shaking, so we were expecting the worst when we arrived.

Well, we got what we expected.

"This is worse than I expected," John commented when we arrived in the main area of the Temple.

Two giant Nature creatures were fighting against Tatsurion and Sasha, Channeler of Light while the rest of the Masters, their creatures and several other acolytes battled a few other giants.

"This calls for the big guns," I said. We summoned our partner creatures, and soon Tusker, Grif, and Volaron were battling one of the giants.

"He is very powerful indeed," Ray commented when Volaron and Tatsurion managed to defeat one of the giants, allowing us to attack the other and bring it down.

Once we had defeated those two giants it became relatively easier for us to defeat or banish the other creatures to their home worlds.

"Thank you for your assistance," Master Jameson told us once the Vault door had been fixed. "We will need to investigate how this Vault was breached. It has spells that prevent the doors from breaking on the inside."

"Good luck with that," John and I said, suppressing yawns. We had already dismissed our creatures.

"You can go home now," Gabe told us. "Thanks again."

"Yeah, sure," Emma said as we made our way out.

About five minutes after we left the Temple we split up to go home. Mom never noticed I was gone, so I was safe as I locked the window behind me and climbed into bed.

The next morning I almost slept through the alarm, and would have if Mom hadn't woken me up for school.

"You're a bit more tired than usual," she commented during breakfast. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, fine," I replied. "Just didn't sleep well."

She didn't push the subject. She never does.

"Ready for school?" Emma asked me when I met them along the way to school.

"Ready as I'll ever be," I replied. The three of us walked to school and were soon seated in homeroom.

"What's our first class of the day?" John asked Emma.

"Study hall, same as every Friday," she reminded him.

"Oh. I knew that."

"_Sure_ you did," Emma laughed.

That day during lunch we were sitting down at the table right as a large explosion shook the building and a large plume of flames erupted from the science wing.

"I have a feeling that was creature related," John said before a dragon emerged from the rooftop.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8—Creature-Related Problems

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* * *

"Same here," Emma and I replied. As they pulled on their gauntlets I ran for my locker.

"What are you doing?" they demanded as they gave chase.

"My gauntlet's in my locker," I replied. "I didn't want anybody finding it."

I arrived at my locker and swiftly opened it as a duelist with a Shaw K'Naw creature on his shoulder. The problem was, he didn't have a gauntlet.

"Oh, boy," I muttered as I pulled out my gauntlet. Before I could pull it on, though, the creature flew out and snatched it from my hands.

"Alright, two can play at that game," I snapped. Volaron would be too big for the hallway, but I knew another creature that could help us out.

"Come, Kenina the Igniter!" I shouted as I went through the motions. The duelist's eyes widened as Kenina appeared. It was harder than with a gauntlet, but I was still able to control Kenina with fairly good precision.

As I got ready to duel Emma and John summoned their creatures, so soon he was facing three creatures with one.

"Shaw K'Naw, attack!" he shouted, sending the Light creature at us.

"Kenina, destroy it!" I commanded. Kenina launched a relentless stream of fire that quickly destroyed it. Before the duelist could flee I got in his way and punched him in the jaw, knocking him out so that I could retrieve my gauntlet.

"Why did you knock him out?" John asked me.

"He stole me gauntlet," I replied. "This was just payback."

After that John pulled out his phone and called the Masters, setting them to speaker.

"This is Master Wallace speaking," Gabe said when he answered the call.

"Master Wallace, there's some major stuff going down here," Emma said. "Somebody summoned a Bolgash Dragon at the school and there are duelers here that don't need gauntlets." She explained everything that happened.

There was a discussion in the background on the other end of the line, but eventually Gabe said, "Okay, we're on our way. Tie up the duelist you found and search the school for other ones. Do not approach the dragon, though. We will take care of it."

"Yes, Master," John said before the call ended.

"I guess that means no Volaron," I commented.

"Then you would be correct," Emma told me. "Use Kenina. She's small and agile yet powerful."

I nodded and we spread out around the school, making sure we had each other's cell phone numbers in case anything happened.

When I reached the music wing of the school I searched every room and saw a duelist keeping several kids hostage in a room using a Fear Fang. Man, I hate those things.

"Hey, kid!" the duelist said when she saw me. She wasn't wearing a gauntlet, either. "Get in here!"

I ducked out of the doorway and told Kenina to stay hidden behind my back. She obeyed, extinguishing her flame to keep me from getting burnt.

Less than a second later the Fear Fang emerged from the room and dragged me in. It never noticed Kenina clinging to my back.

"Sit over there with the others!" the duelist told me, pointing to a group of kids cowering in the corner.

I walked over to the corner, keeping my back to her, but instead of sitting with the other kids I ordered Kenina to attack. I was surprised by how viciously the little bird could attack, destroying the Fear Fang and knocking out the duelist before she could summon another creature.

"Stay in here and lock the door," I told the kids as I tied her up. The students consisted of freshmen, and they were scared enough to listen to me as I dragged the woman out.

"Guard her," I commanded Kenina as I pulled out my phone to call John.

"What's up, Jake?" he asked.

"I took out another duelist. What should I do with her?"

"Lock her in a closet and seal the door," he told me.

"Thanks." I ended the call and dragged the woman to a nearby janitor's closet that was empty, locking and sealing the door with a bit of extra mana. Despite all the dueling I did, my mana levels didn't waver in the slightest.

"Let's keep going," I told Kenina. We searched more rooms, but the rest of the wing was clear so we moved on to another wing of the school.

As I finished my search of another wing I got a call from Emma.

"What's up?" I asked her.

"I found a group of three or four duelists. They're in the trig classroom. I already called John. Come quickly," she said before hanging up.

I ran to the proper area and walked the rest of the way, making sure that I made little to no sound as Kenina perched on my shoulders.

"Jake?" Emma asked from the janitor's closet next to the trig classroom.

I walked in and found her and John waiting there.

"What are we doing in here?" I asked them.

"We need to stay out of sight until we can go in there," she said. Unfortunately, the closet was extremely cramped with their creatures in there as well, so we had to emerge soon after.

"Do they have hostages?" John and I asked Emma.

"Only the teacher," she replied. "I fear that we may not be able to overpower the duelists, though."

"Don't worry," John said. "I've got a plan."

"It had better be a good one," I added.

"Oh, it is." He explained the plan to us, and it brilliant.

"Go now, before anyone else arrives," Emma said to me.

I sighed and removed my gauntlet before walking into the trig room.

"Hey, can you help me with my trig homework?" I asked as I walked in, looking at a piece of paper in my hand. "I can't figure out question 3."

I looked up and stopped when I saw the six duelists gathered together. The teacher was trembling in a corner, looking at me with wide eyes.

"Who are you guys?" I asked them.

"That's none of your business," one of them said. "Get in the corner, now."

I laughed. "Like _that_'s gonna happen," I chuckled before commanding Kenina to leap from my back and launch fire at the duelists. They produced shields to protect themselves, but Emma and John charged in through the other door with their creatures and destroyed the shields. Together, we managed to take down the duelists with our creatures.

"Are you okay?" I asked the teacher. He looked at me and nodded, still scared out of his mind. "Stay here, and stay hidden," I told him as we tied up the duelists, gagged them, and tossed them into the janitor's closet we were in previously.

As we closed the door and locked it we could hear roars emanate from outside.

"Sounds like the cavalry's arrived," I said. We finished our search of the building and when no more duelists appeared we ran towards the sounds of battle, which led us to the courtyard of the school, where the Masters and their creatures were fighting the dragon.

Gabe's creature, Reef Prince Glu-urrgle, had created some kind of helicopter/tank that was launching missiles at the dragon while the rest of the creatures launched attack after attack. The only ones that were causing damage, though, were Tatsurion, Mighty Shouter (Kimora's partner), and Prism-Blade Enforcer (Jameson's partner). Those three weren't even having much of an effect.

"Looks like they could use some help," I commented. I banished Kenina as Grif and Tusker were sent into battle.

"Rise, Dragon Knight Volaron!" I commanded, performing the motions.

"Whom do we need to fight now?" he asked me when he arrived.

I pointed at the dragon, which is about two times taller than him.

"Oh. Okay," he said, drawing his blade. He charged the dragon and joined the fight.

With the aid of our creatures, we managed to defeat the dragon, sending it back to its home world.

"Good job today, acolytes," Ray told us as Gabe sent out countless Memory Swarm creatures to erase memories of the event from students and faculty, replacing the story with that of a gas line rupturing, causing the science wing to explode.

"Thank you, Master," we replied. We told them the locations of all the duelists we took care of and Gabe dispatched even more Memory Swarms.

"Isn't it hard to control all those creatures at once?" I asked Gabe.

"Not really. These creatures are relatively small and don't require much mana, so they're very easy to control in large numbers," he explained as creatures began returning to be banished.

Once we banished our creatures the Masters released everyone else from the rooms they were hiding in, and we removed our gauntlets.

Once everyone was out of hiding an announcement came over the speakers.

"Attention, everyone," the superintendent said. "Due to today's events, all students are now dismissed. There will be no sports practices after school, either."

Every student cheered and we went to our lockers to grab our things.

"What do you want to do before we have training?" Emma asked us.

"How about lunch?" John replied as his stomach grumbled. "We never got a chance to eat."

"Good point," I added. We walked around and found a diner to eat at. We slid into a booth and soon a waitress walked up to us and handed us menus.

"Shouldn't you three be in school?" she asked us.

"Early dismissal today," Emma said, opening her menu.

When we finished eating we walked around town for about an hour before we got bored and went over to my house to hang out.

"This place is nice," Emma commented as I unlocked the door to our house. "Where are your parents?"

"My mom's at work," I replied.

"What about your dad?" John asked.

I paused. "San Campion cemetery," I told him. "He died ten years ago in a car accident."

"Oh, I'm sorry," John said sincerely.

"It's okay. It's not your fault," I assured him. I gave them a tour of the house and ended with my room.

"Wow, you draw a lot," Emma commented, walking over to my pile of sketchbooks.

"Yeah. I usually do it when I'm bored," I replied, tossing my bag onto my bed. She picked up my latest book and flipped through it.

"Wow, you're a really good artist," she complimented me, looking through the sketches. She stopped at the last one, which was of the three of us, and smiled.

"Those are private," I said, snatching it from her hand and snapping it shut.

"You're an odd case, Jake," John told me, looking at a poster of a professional skateboarder next to a sketch of Kenina that I taped to the wall.

"Yeah, I know," I replied. I jumped on the bed and Emma sat beside me as John sat down in my desk chair.

We chatted about random stuff for a while before my phone began to ring.

"It's my mom," I told them when I saw the caller ID. I answered the call and lifted the phone to my ear. "Hello?" I asked.

"Jake, are you okay?" Mom demanded. "I just heard about the explosion. What happened? Did anybody get hurt?"

"Mom, calm down," I told her. "I'm fine. A gas line ruptured at the school. As far as I know, everyone is okay."

She sighed. "Good. Where are you now?"

"I'm at home. Why?"

"I just wanted to know. I have to get back to work. Bye," she said before ending the call.

We lounged around the house for ten more minutes before Emma got a call from Allie.

"Yes, Master Underhill?" she asked as she answered the phone. There was chatter on the other end and Emma set the phone to speaker.

"Are all three of you there?" Allie asked us.

"Yes, we are," I replied. "What's up?"

"We need you to come to the Temple," Gabe told us.

"Okay, we're on our way," Emma told them before ending the call.

We grabbed out gauntlets and ran out of the house. I had my skateboard with me, so I was soon gaining ground quicker than the others.

"Hey, wait for us!" John called out to me.

I slowed down enough for them to catch up and we continued to the Temple, where Master Kimora rushed us to a hall where a large Battle Sphere was. Countless videos were scattered around its surface. The Masters were gathered around a single video feed.

"Due to your success today at the school, we have decided to assign you another mission," Ray told us. Master Jameson enlarged a screen to reveal more duelists without gauntlets walking into a warehouse.

"This was recorded by one of our Stalker Spheres at the docks," Gabe told us. "This will be a mission of complete stealth, which means that no creatures are to be summoned unless necessary. We will send a Stalker Sphere with you. You are to get it into the warehouse and place it in a position that allows it to view what is happening."

"Yes, Masters," Emma and John told them. I hesitated a second before saying the same thing. I have bad memories of the docks.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9—The Docks

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"Why are you acting so weird?" Emma asked when we arrived at the docks. I was trying to ignore all the memories that were rushing at me.

"This place brings back bad memories," I told her. "I'll be fine, though."

"What kinds of memories?" she asked me.

"Not now," John told us as another duelist walked by. He had a Burn Belly creature following him.

"Where's the Stalker Sphere the Masters were going to send up?" I asked them.

"Right behind you," Emma said.

John grabbed it and stuck it in his backpack for safekeeping until we could place it.

"How do we get in?" Emma said when we spotted two Fire Civilization creatures standing guard at the door.

"Follow me," I told them, going around to the side.

We walked up to part of the wall and I fit my hand into a small hole in the wall and pulled. It slid aside and we creeped in, keeping our eyes out for any duelists or creatures.

"How did you know that was there?" Emma asked as I closed the hole.

"I'll explain later," I told her. "Come on."

We climbed box after box so that we could get as high as possible.

"I hope neither of you are afraid of heights," I told them.

"Nope," they both said.

Right then we heard noise below us so we looked down and saw at least ten duelists attempting to control a large Flametropus. Its head was just a few feet lower than us, so we had to hope that it didn't get too close. The duelists couldn't control the creature, though, and it raged around the warehouse.

"This isn't good," Emma said. "We need to wait for it to come under control before we place the Stalker Sphere."

Unfortunately, the large creature took out the pile of boxes we were balancing on, sending us down to the ground.

"This is definitely not good," I commented when we used mana shields to keep us from getting hurt. We landed right in front of a bunch of duelists that were running in.

"Intruders!" one of them announced while the others summoned creatures.

We activated our gauntlets and summoned our partner creatures.

"We've got a big problem, Volaron," I told him when we destroyed the creatures.

"What kind of problem…" he began before noticing the Flametropus, which was even bigger than the Bolgash Dragon we took down earlier. "Oh. That problem."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10—That Problem

"Can you take it down?" I asked him.

"Of course I can," he assured me. "Just…it might take a while."

He charged into battling the Flametropus along with Tusker and Grif while I called the Masters.

"What happened?" Ray asked when he answered.

"Master Pierce, we have a serious problem," I told him. "The duelists are keeping a Flametropus in the warehouse, and we got caught. We're currently dueling it."

"Alright, we're on our way," he replied. The call ended and I focused on the duel.

Unfortunately, Tusker and Grif were soon destroyed and Volaron soon followed, so we had to summon new creatures.

"Nimbus Scout!" I shouted, calling the first powerful creature that came to mind. The creature appeared before me and I commanded it to attack the Flametropus.

"Aw, man. I hate these things!" Allie groaned when the Masters arrived. They summoned their creatures and soon it was eight creatures versus one, although the Flametropus managed to defeat Prism Blade Enforcer and Squeaky before Allie cast a Spell of Banishment to get rid of the creature.

"Thank you for alerting us," Ray told us as we took care of the duelists.

"Any time," I replied.

We had the duelists taken care of and Gabe was right about to wipe their minds when an unfamiliar voice cried out, "Dreadclaw, Dark Herald!"

We all turned to the voice in time to watch a gigantic Terror Dragon destroy all our creatures in one hit and free the duelists.

"Who is that?" Kimora asked.

"Leave my duelists alone," a voice commanded. We looked and noticed a person wearing a black cloak standing near the doors. "If you interfere in my operations again, you will wish for death."

"If I had a penny for every death threat I received, I would be a rich man," Ray commented. "Who are you?"

"I am the one who will reunite the two side of the Veil!" the person announced. "Do not cross me, or you will be sorry."

Before we could say anything else the dragon filled the room with smoke.

"Sasha, Channeler of Light!" Gabe called. The creature appeared and dismissed the smoke, leaving us in an empty warehouse.

"Looks like it's the Choten all over again," Gabe said with a sigh.

"Choten?" I asked.

"The Choten is a man who tried to take over both the Earth and Kaiju Realms," Kimora explained. "In his first attempt he used the Five Creature Monarchs, and last time he tried creating a war among all creature civilizations. He has not been seen in ten years, so nobody knows what happened to him."

"Since we helped save the school, defeat the Flametropus, and our mana's too depleted, does that mean there's no training?" John asked the Masters as we removed our deactivated gauntlets.

"You are excused from training, but that does not mean you are excused from your responsibilities," Master Jameson told us. "Today you need to dust the tablets in the library."

We groaned for a few seconds before they left.

"I'll be right back," I told John and Emma as I left to retrieve my skateboard.

"Why do you know your way around the docks so well?" John asked me. "Why does this place bring back bad memories?"

"A couple summers ago, a dated a girl name Jessica Summers," I told them. "We spent all our time around the docks, exploring the empty warehouses and swimming in the bay."

"Yeah? So?" Emma asked.

"Near the end of that summer I caught her cheating with my best friend in this warehouse," I explained. "I haven't come near the docks since because of the bad memories it stirs up."

"I'm sorry," Emma told me.

"It's okay," I assured her. "I'm over it."

"Jessica Summers…didn't she move away last year?" John asked me.

"Yeah, she did," I confirmed. "My 'best friend' is now the biggest bully in the school."

"Seriously? You used to be friends with Miles?" Emma asked me.

"Yep. Come on. The faster we get done in the library the faster we can go home," I told them.

We hurried to the Temple and Gabe directed us to the library, where he handed us each a duster.

"Just do the first five shelves for now," Gabe told us, directing each of us to our specialty element.

As I began dusting I studied the name on every tablet I grabbed for a few seconds in case I would need it later. I discovered a few interesting creatures, and even a dragon in the Light section before moving on to Fire, where I discovered a few more interesting creatures.

"I have a feeling that the Masters had us dust tablets for a reason," Emma commented as she studied a Darkness creature's tablet.

"No, really?" I asked sarcastically, peaking from around the shelf. As a reply I got a feather duster to the face, but I just deflected it with a mana shield.

"We're all done, Master Wallace," we told Gabe when we were finished.

"Good job today, acolytes," he said. "You may now go home."

"All of our stuff's still at your house," John told me as he removed the Masters' Stalker Sphere from his bag and handed it to Master Jameson.

"Let's go, then," I replied.

We left the Temple and began walking to my house.

"You'll have to meet my mom," I told them when I saw her car pulled into the driveway. "Brace yourself, she might be a bit excited."

As I pushed the door open I called, "Mom, I'm home! I brought some company, too!"

"Who is it, honey?" Mom asked as she looked up from her book. When she saw John and Emma she dropped the book and stood up, shaking their hands. "Hello, it's wonderful to meet you. I'm Jake's mother. You must be John and Emma."

"Yes. It's nice to meet you too, Ms. DiCarten," Emma replied.

"What are those?" Mom asked, pointing to the gauntlet sticking out of John's pocket. "They look like fancy gloves."

"They are," John said hurriedly, pushing the gauntlet deeper into his pocket. "Well, we just need to grab our stuff from Jake's room and we'll be going."

"Alright," she said, slightly less excited for some reason. They went to my room and grabbed their things before emerging.

"Goodbye, Ms. DiCarten," Emma said as they left.

"Whatcha think of them?" I asked Mom as we got dinner ready.

"They're…nice," she commented.

"What's wrong?" I asked her. "When they got here you were so excited, and now you look angry at them."

"It's nothing," she replied. "Is it okay if I come watch your martial arts lesson Monday?"

"Um, sure," I told her. "Why?"

"I just want to make sure you're moving along well," she said. "I'll be by at five Monday."

"Okay," I replied.

Over the weekend nothing really happened, so I'll just skip to Monday.

As school that day I told John and Emma about it.

"Do you think she knows about Kaijudo?" John asked me.

"I don't think so. She would never seem to be the type to summon mystical creatures and duel other ones," I replied. "Whatever the case, though, we need to come up with a plan."

"Don't worry about it," John assured me. "The Masters keep a plan in place in case parents visit. It happens all the time with new acolytes."

During gym that day we were playing baseball again and kept the same teams, so we managed to beat Miles' team by a single run, so we were in a good mood by the end of the day.

When we arrived at the Temple we walked straight to the Masters' table.

"Yes?" Kimora asked when we arrived. "What do you need?"

"My mom's going to visit at five o'clock," I told them. "We need to convince her that I'm actually learning martial arts."

"Calm down, calm down," Ray told me. "We've already got a plan for this. Follow me."

He led me back up to the martial arts dojo along with Emma and John. He handed us each martial arts uniforms. To me he also gave a white belt while giving orange belts to Emma and John.

"Because you are new to martial arts, you start out as white belt, the lowest," Ray explained. "Emma and John are orange belts because they have trained much longer. They usually dedicate one day of training per week to martial arts, and I suggest you do that same. It helps you protect yourself when you run out of mana."

"I will, Master Pierce," I replied. "Thank you for doing this for me."

"It's not just for you," he told me. "This protects the Temple from detection as well. Now, go into the changing room and put on your uniform."

John and I went to the changing area for guys as Emma went to the changing area for girls.

"You look nice," I told Emma as we emerged from the changing rooms. Her hair was braided behind her to keep it out of her face.

"No shoes," Ray reminded me when I began to pull on my shoes.

"John and Emma, this will be mainly review for you two, but I need to make sure Jake knows the basics before we move on," Ray told them.

"It's okay, Master Pierce. We don't mind," John assured him.

Ray began by teaching me the fundamentals of karate. I learn quickly, so we moved on and by the time Mom walked into the main room I was doing well.

"Hello? I'm looking for me son, Jacob," I heard Mom say as she walked in. the four of us were in a side room, so she couldn't see us right away.

"Mom?" I asked, opening the door to the room we were in. "Over here."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11—Meeting Mom

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She walked over to the door and entered. She nodded to John and Emma and walked up to Ray. "It's a pleasure to meet you," she said. "I'm Jake's mother, Maria DiCarten."

"Pleasure is all mine," Ray said. "I am Jacob's teacher, Raiden Pierce-Okamoto. You can just call me 'Ray', though."

They shook hands and Ray went back to teaching us.

"Why isn't Jake with the rest of the class?" Mom asked him. "He's the same level as them."

"Yes, but Jacob is older than the other students, which puts him at a physical advantage over them, so I'm keeping him with students his own age," Ray said, answering the question perfectly to avoid suspicion. "This way, he's also with his friends."

She watched the lesson until it ended, when training would normally end.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow," I told John and Emma when we had changed back into our normal clothes.

"Okay. See ya!" they replied.

"What did you think of it?" I asked Mom as she drove us home.

"It's neat," she said. "It's nice to see you making friends again and expressing interest in something new. I think it's good for you."

"Thanks, Mom. It is," I replied. I let out a faint sigh of relief. She didn't suspect a thing, as far as she was revealing.

That night I drew more, but this time I didn't draw any creatures. The first thing that appeared in my head for me to draw was the symbol for the Light Civilization. I went on to draw the symbols for every creature civilization and a small creature beneath each.

"These are neat drawings," Emma commented when she saw the drawings the next day during lunch.

"Aw, does Jake still want to be an artist?" Miles teased, walking up behind Emma and grabbing the sketchpad.

"Miles, give it back," I told him, standing up.

"Oh, but I want to see your drawings," he said, flipping through the pages. "What _are_ these things, anyways?" he demanded when he reached a drawing of Tatsurion. "It looks like a messed-up rhino."

"Give it back, Miles," I repeated. "Now."

He just sneered at me. "Oh, and are you going to stop me?" he asked. "You wouldn't dare."

"Oh, I would," I replied, snatching the book from his hands before he could stop me.

A teacher came over to us and stopped the fight before it could even begin, but I knew that I'd have to deal with him after school, and I was right.

That day as we made our way to training I was riding my skateboard and was mid-jump when I felt somebody tackle me around the midsection, sending me to the ground. I was too surprised to use my shield, and as I tried to stand up someone pulled at my bag.

"Get off me!" I shouted, using my shield to send the person flying. As I looked to see whom it was I noticed that it was Miles who had tackled me.

"What do you want, Miles?" I demanded.

"Payback, DiCarten," he snarled. He stood up and ran at me again. I knew better than to use a shield, so I jumped to the side in order to avoid the tackle.

"What for?"

"Getting in my way at lunch," he told me. It was a lousy excuse, but I didn't care.

"Jake! Don't do this!" Emma told me. "Be the better person!"

"Yeah, Jake. Let the girl save the day," Miles taunted me. "You never would get involved in a fight, not even when you found out about Jessica and I."

That did it.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12—Fighting

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I charged at him and tackled him at the midsection. I landed a couple punches before we started fighting to gain the upper hand. One second he had it, trying to punch me in the face as I blocked the hits, and then I had the upper hand, trying to just beat the tar out of him.

"Jacob!" John shouted as he separated the two of us. I had a cut lip and some bruising and Miles' nose was bleeding profusely. "That's enough, from both of you!"

I was just amazed that John was able to separate us, but Miles saw that if he kept going he'd have to deal with John, and those chances weren't good for him.

"Why did you let him get to you?" Emma demanded as I grabbed my skateboard and we continued to the Temple.

"Somebody had to teach that jerk a lesson," I told her. "Actually, I think I was winning."

"You know what I think?" John asked. "I think you two were acting like complete idiots. We're in high school! I thought that means no more fighting over stupid stuff like that?"

"Well, he still deserved it," I mumbled.

We remained silent until we got to the Temple, where Ray was waiting for us.

"What happened to you?" he demanded when he saw my face.

"Got into a fight with the bully," I explained briefly. "How bad is it?"

"Not bad," he replied. "Just a bruised jaw and a cut lip."

"Oh. I can easily explain that to Mom, then," I said. "So, what are we doing for training today?"

"Another field mission," he told us. "There have been recent incidents of breaches in the Veil. Every time we find one, we'll contact you so that you can seal it before anything can get through."

"Yes, Master," John replied.

"Here's your first assignment," he told us, handing us a sheet of paper. "There's a Veil breach at the marked location."

We nodded and ran back up the stairs.

"You know, we're going to need a faster mode of transportation if we're going to be traveling all over San Campion," Emma commented as I jumped onto my skateboard outside.

"I've got just the trick," I said. "Ion Cruiser!" I called, performing the necessary motions.

"You want us to ride that…thing?" Emma asked me as I made it hover just an inch over the ground.

"Unless you want to walk the entire way," I told her as I picked up my skateboard and walked onto it. The creature wobbled a bit but was soon completely stable. John seemed fine with it as well, so Emma climbed on.

"Hold on!" I told them as I commanded Ion Cruiser to rise high into the air and take us to the spot.

"Why are we so high in the sky?" John asked me.

"It helps keep people from noticing us," I explained when we arrived and began descending.

"Do you guys know how to close a hole in the Veil?" I asked them when we arrived in front of the breach. "I haven't gotten there in training yet."

"Pay close attention," John told me, activating his gauntlet. Before he could close the breach, though, there was a loud rumbling and a Rumbling Terrasaur emerged and began charging at us.

"Ion Cruiser, protect us!" I commanded. Ion Cruiser dove down and blasted the Terrasaur a few times before swooping up and repeating the same thing.

"Close the breach before something else comes out!" I told John as I fended off the creature.

"How about I just do this?" Emma asked, seizing control of the Terrasaur.

"Oh. Why didn't you do that before?" I asked them.

"I wanted to see how long you could last against it," she explained as she replenished the creature's depleted mana.

I watched as John closed the breach, memorizing the movements.

"Here's the next breach," Emma said, checking coordinates on her phone. She dismissed the Terrasaur and we climbed back onto Cruiser.

The next breach was about ten blocks north, and when we arrived it was inside a store, so we walked in and had to control a few Fear Fangs as Emma closed the breach.

We spent the next two hours traveling around San Campion, closing any breaches that appeared and banishing creatures that escaped. John even had to wipe a few minds. He's the only one of the three of us that can control Cyber Viruses with precision.

"Good job today, acolytes," Gabe told us when we got back to the Temple. I dismissed Cruiser when we arrived at the martial arts studio. "You are dismissed for today."

"Thank you, Master Wallace," we replied.

"You also have the day off tomorrow so that you may relax a bit," he added. "It's been a long week."

"Thank you," we repeated.

"What do you guys want to do tomorrow?" I asked the others as we walked out.

"Can you teach me how to skateboard?" Emma asked me.

"Um…"

"Pleeeeaaase?" she asked.

"Well, I'll try. I'm not a great teacher, though," I told her.

"Yay!" she squealed. "I'll see you guys tomorrow!"

I waved as they set off in one direction and I went in the other.

"How was practice today?" Mom asked me when I got home.

"It was good." I ate a quick dinner and went to my room to do homework. As I passed by her she saw my face.

"Jake, what happened to you?" she asked me, making me look at her.

"Wiped out while trying to jump the stairs outside the school," I lied smoothly. She's used to me getting injured by skateboarding.

"Well, be more careful out there, okay?" she told me.

"I will, Mom," I replied before going to my room to do homework.

"Jake, are you in here?" she asked me, knocking on the door to my room a few hours later.

"Yeah, right here," I replied from the desk. I was putting the finishing touches on an essay for history.

"I need to go take care of something for work. They need my help. Will you be okay?" she asked.

"Yeah. I'll be fine," I assured her.

She nodded and walked out to her car, which she drove away.

A few minutes later I got a call on my phone from the Masters.

"Yeah? What's up?" I asked them.

"We need your assistance at the docks again," Master Kimora told me. "Please hurry. There are a couple Flametropuses on a rampage."

"I'm on my way, Master Kimora," I replied. I summoned a small Stalker Sphere and commanded it to disguise itself as me and placed it under my covers so that, if Mom came home before I was done, she would think the Stalker Sphere is me.

"Whoa," I said when I arrived at the docks. There were three Flametropuses stomping around the docks. The Masters were attacking one while countless acolytes attacked the other two.

"Jacob! We need your help over here!" Emma shouted from the nearest Flametropus. Their creatures had just been defeated so they were using other ones.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13—The Docks. Again.

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"These again?" Volaron asked me when I had summoned him.

"If we can't defeat them they can destroy the city," I told him.

"Okay." He drew his sword and charged at the Flametropus.

We were able to destroy that Flametropus and Allie managed to banish another, but the third one was harder to defeat. It had somehow been evolved.

"There's a way to evolve creatures?" I asked John and Emma.

"Yeah. The Choten injected a Flametropus with evolution serum, and this must be the one," John explained. "Only the Masters know the spell of Temporary Evolution."

We watched as Allie Evolved Squeaky so that she could be better suited for it.

"We aren't allowed to use spells yet, though, since we're only at acolyte level," Emma explained.

"That stinks," I commented as we battle the Flametropus. It had backup, though, as the mysterious stranger from Friday appeared with his or her Dreadclaw dragon. It was able to destroy our creatures again.

"We need more powerful creatures if we're going to banish those!" Ray shouted.

I ran through my mental inventory of Light and Fire creatures and focused on one in particular. It was a dragon and would require a lot of mana to control, though, so I summoned a different Light creature to refill my mana stores and even give me an extra boost before I dismissed it.

"Bolgash Dragon!" Ray called. All off the Masters summoned dragons of varying degrees of power, and with them they managed to get rid of the Flametropus, but they were too drained of mana to destroy the Dreadclaw.

"We don't have enough mana to continue!" Allie shouted as we shielded ourselves from the Darkness Dragon's attack.

"I've got an idea, but it might take all of us to control the creature I have in mind," I told them.

"Do we have any other choice?" Master Jameson asked me.

"Not really, no," I told him.

"Alright, then. Summon your creature!" Kimora told me.

I focused my mana and made sure we were all ready before shouting, "Rise, Cassiopeia Starborn!"

"A Celestial Dragon?" Jameson demanded. "You aren't powerful enough to control that thing!" he added as a rift appeared in front of us and a huge Light Dragon stepped out.

"Cassiopeia, attack!" I commanded. The other Masters copied my command, using their slight amount of mana to aid me in commanding the creature. We were barely strong enough to command it to destroy the Dreadclaw before I had to dismiss it.

"Good idea with the dragon," Gabe told me, "but next time, make sure we all have full stores of mana."

"Yes, Master Wallace," I replied, exhausted from the effort of summoning and controlling Cassiopeia. "At least we know a creature powerful enough to beat that creature, though."

"Where'd the mystery duelist go?" John commented as the rest of the acolytes left.

"Probably made a run for it," Allie said.

"What did you tell you mom to get here?" Emma asked me.

"I didn't. She had to leave to do something for work a few minutes before you called me," I replied.

"She was already gone for something?" Jameson asked me.

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, the creatures appeared about a minute before we contacted you," he told me.

"Are you saying my _mom_ is involved in this?" I asked him.

"It is possible that she kept it a secret from you," he replied. "We will look into this possibility further. Until then, go home and act like nothing is going on."

We nodded and left for our houses.

As I arrived at my house I saw mom's car pull into the driveway, so I practically dove over some bushes to avoid being seen. I waited for her to enter the house before making a mad dash for my room. I was fortunate that my room's at the opposite end of the house, or else I never would have been able to climb through the window, dismiss the Stalker Sphere and pull out a sketchbook before Mom had a chance to open the door.

"Are you alright in here?" she asked me as she walked in.

"Yeah, fine," I replied. "What was going on at work? They never called you in this late before."

"It was nothing," she told me. "They just had some networking issues." Mom works as a computer technician at a local business. "I still need to make a few calls, though. I'll be in my office if you need me."

"Okay," I replied.

"You should get some rest, too," she added before she walked out.

I nodded and right as she closed the door I stood up and walked over to the door. Once I was sure she was in her office I summoned a Stalker Sphere and hooked it up to my phone so that I could watch and hear what it watches and hears.

"Remember not to get caught," I told the sphere. I made it turn invisible and sent it to Mom's office, where it passed through the open door and positioned itself in the upper corner.

Once I was sure it was placed in the proper spot I focused on the screen on my phone.

"Hey, it's me," I heard Mom say into her phone. There was chatter on the other end and I increased the sound sensitivity on the Sphere until I could hear the other person.

"The Duel Masters and their acolytes managed to defeat the Flametropuses we summoned and your Dreadclaw," the person on the other end. "Why couldn't you have been there? You would have crushed them."

I almost dropped the phone.

Mom's one of the bad guys?

I managed to recover and continued to watch the conversation.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14—Mom? A Bad Guy?

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"I told you, I had to do something at work, just like Friday. You should have been able to handle it yourself," she told the person at the other end of the call. I began recording the message as they continued.

"Yeah, well, they managed to summon Cassiopeia Starborn," the other person said. "The worst part is that a boy was controlling it. He was at the warehouse Friday, too. He and his two friends are getting more powerful, as are the Duel Masters. They continue to interfere in our plans. Are you sure your son isn't one of them?"

I froze when I heard them say that.

"How dare you accuse my son of being one of them!" she hissed into the receiver.

"He attends the dojo that sits atop the Kaijudo Temple. What other explanation is there?" the person asked.

"I've been there. He goes only to train in karate. His friends, though, are trouble. The bigger one has a dueling glove. I'm not sure about the girl," she replied.

"How do you know they didn't just fake it to ease your suspicions?" the other person asked her. "The Masters are full of surprises."

"Don't worry about it. I'll pop in for a 'surprise' visit tomorrow. If they aren't there, we'll know for sure," she said.

The other person was about to talk when she shushed them. "Somebody's watching me," she whispered. She looked over into the corner where I hid the Stalker Sphere and I frantically dismissed it, disconnecting it from my phone as well.

"Jacob? Are you there?" I heard her call from her office.

"Huh?" I replied, sticking my head out the door.

"Oh, it's nothing," she said, walking out. "I just thought I heard somebody. Never mind. Good night."

"Good night," I told her as I retreated to my room again, locking the door behind me.

I changed into my pajamas and kept my phone in my pocket the entire night. I had a very strange dream that night.

I was in the warehouse from Friday and watched as Dreadclaw killed my friends and the Masters. I watched as the hooded figure removed the hood to reveal…Mom's face.

"How did you sleep?" Mom asked me the next morning during breakfast.

"It's good," I replied.

"Ready for martial arts lessons?" she asked.

"Actually, the teacher gave us the day off so that we could relax a bit," I explained. She looked disappointed but recovered her look of interest almost immediately.

"What do you plan on doing today instead?" she asked me.

"I promised Emma I'd teach her how to skateboard," I replied. "Other than that, though, not much."

"Oh. Okay." She looked down into her cup of coffee. "I have to stay late today for work," she added. "Will you be okay finding your own dinner?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," I said. Before we could say anything else I grabbed my bag and board and walked out to go to school.

"Are you okay?" Emma asked when we found each other about a block from the school. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I'll tell you guys about it during lunch," I told them. "I don't want to discuss it right now."

During lunch we sat at our table and I made sure to be between them so that we could all watch the video.

"Master Jameson was right about my mom," I said once I was sure nobody else was listening.

"Jake, just because Jameson says something it doesn't mean you have to believe it," John assured me.

"No, I have proof," I told him, pulling out my phone. I played the message for them, and as it progressed their faces grew sadder and sadder.

"We need to tell the Masters about this," Emma said.

"Yes, I know we do," I replied. "The thing is, I think she's going to be at an attack tonight. She told me today that she has to stay late for work."

"This is really bad," John commented.

"Yeah, I know," I added. "We should go tell the Masters right after school."

When school ended we grabbed our things and ran out of the school and went as fast as we could to the Temple.

"What's the rush?" Gabe asked when we arrived at the room with Panopter, the Battle Sphere that controls the rest.

"Master Jameson was right," I told him, panting as I handed him my phone. "Play the latest video on that," I added.

He connected it to Panopter and began playing the video as the other Masters arrived.

"My mother works with the enemy duelists," I told the Masters. "She wasn't at the last attacks, though, because she had to work."

"Why did you bring this to us?" Ray asked me. "You could have kept this as a secret and we would have never known. Now that we know, we need to carry out certain measures."

"I told you because I think she's going to be at an attack tonight," I said. "She told me that she has to stay late for work tonight, but I think she plans to be at an attack."

"How do we know you aren't lying to us?" Jameson demanded. "This could all just be a trap. You could be working for your mother right now."

"Yeah, but I'm not," I replied. "I believe in using Kaijudo to keep the peace among the two sides of the Veil. If I didn't, I would've chosen to have my memory wiped."

"He makes a valid point, Master Jameson," Kimora said I my defense. "Plus, Jacob could be our way of discovering when an attack will occur, as long as he is not discovered."

"Very well," Jameson said with a slight frown. "You may continue to study Kaijudo."

I bowed. "Thank you, Master Jameson," I told him.

"You can go continue your day off now," Gabe told us, handing me my phone.

"It's strange how little you have in common with your main creature Civilization," John told me as we walked out of the dojo. "Usually Light creatures stand for knowledge and order, and you like to argue."

"It must be the fire in me," I replied, referring to the fact that my gauntlet is now laced through with streaks of red.

"Probably," Emma said. "So, where are you going to teach me how to skateboard?"

"The park," I told her.

We walked over to San Campion Park and I found a good stretch of uninterrupted sidewalk to begin on.

I helped her stand on the skateboard, but the moment I removed my hands and took a step back she began wobbling dangerously and the board shot out from beneath her, sending her crashing to the ground.

I ran forward and caught her in my arms right before she would've hit the ground. "It helps if you keep your balance," I told her as I helped her stand up again.

"Yeah, yeah," she mumbled, punching me lightly on the arm.

"Here's the skateboard," John told me, handing me the board.

"Thanks, John," I replied. "Do you want to try?"

He laughed lightly. "No, thanks," he said.

I helped Emma back onto the skateboard and showed her how to keep her balance, even when it moves. After that I pushed her gently to get her moving to see how well she kept her balance. She managed to stay standing for the first ten feet before losing her balance. I caught her again and helped her to her feet.

I continued to teach her for over an hour.

"Alright, let's stop now," Emma said after falling for the umpteenth time.

"Okay," I replied, helping her up and grabbing my skateboard.

"Do you wanna go over to my house for dinner?" John asked us as we walked around the city.

"Sure," Emma said. "What about you, Jake?"

"Sounds good," I replied. "Just let me notify my mother."

Emma and I pulled out our phones to let our parents know.

"Sure, that sounds good to me," Mom told me when I asked her. "Just make sure you get home at a good time."

"Kay. Thanks, Mom," I said before ending the call.

"My mom said it's okay," I told John.

"My dad gave me permission, too," Emma added.

"That's good," John commented.

We walked around the city for twenty more minutes before making our way to John's house, which is close to the water.

"Mom, I'm home!" John called as we walked into his house.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15—Dinner

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A woman around Emma's height emerged from the kitchen. "Hey there, guys," she said. She noticed me and walked up to me. "You must be Jacob. I'm John's mother. He's told me a lot about you."

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Williams," I told her, shaking her hand.

"And you, Mr. DiCarten," she replied.

"What are _you_ doing home so early?" a young voice sneered from a side hallway.

"Lucy, don't be so rude to your brother," Mrs. Williams scolded her. A young girl walked out from the hallway and looked at John. They were exact opposites. John's tall, muscular, and has dark green eyes, but Lucy's fairly short, skinny, and has bright blue eyes. "He brought his friends for dinner."

"I thought you had Kaijudo training today," Lucy said.

"Whoa, what are you talking about?" I asked her.

"It's okay, she knows," John told me. "Lucy's a low-level acolyte herself. My entire family is involved in Kaijudo."

"He's right," his mother said. "I'm a Fire Specialist and John's father is a Nature Specialist."

"I didn't know entire families get involved in Kaijudo," I commented.

"Most families don't get involved. More often than not, it's just one family member, but our entire family has gone into Kaijudo," she replied.

"Which Civilization do you prefer?" Lucy asked me.

"Light," I replied, "although my main creature is a Light/Fire Hybrid."

"Good," Mrs. Williams said. "At least you like Fire as well."

"My first summon was a Fire creature," I told her. "Kenina the Igniter."

"I don't get why people like Fire so much," Lucy muttered.

"Oh, and your Civilization is _so_ much better," John said.

This ignited an arguing match between the two of them.

"Both of you, stop fighting!" Mrs. Williams told them. "Everyone has their own preferences."

"What does she prefer?" I asked Emma.

"Water Civilization," Emma replied.

"Seriously?" I asked, eyebrows rising. "With her personality, I'd say Fire."

"That's what I thought the first time," she told me.

"Let's not discuss Kaijudo right now," Mrs. Williams told us. "Please, come in more."

We walked into the living room and sat down on the couches as Mrs. Williams prepared dinner.

"Where's your dad?" I asked John.

"He's on his way from work," he replied. "He works as a construction contractor."

"Sounds cool," I said.

"He enjoys doing it," John added.

"Is it true that you can duel without a gauntlet or is John making up stories?" Lucy asked me.

"Yes, I can summon and control creatures without my gauntlet, although it's easier with the gauntlet on," I told her. "How good are you at dueling?"

"I'm not bad, although I'm only allowed to train once a week," Lucy told me. She dropped her voice to a whisper. "Although, I sometimes sneak out at night and train. Mom and Dad have never found out."

"Oh, yes we have," Mrs. Williams shouted from the kitchen. "Here's a tip: next time you summon a creature, make sure it isn't one as loud as Steamstar Grappalog."

"Aw, but I thought I was being super quiet!" Lucy whined.

"Well, you weren't," Mrs. Williams said. "Besides, I thought I said we weren't going to talk about Kaijudo so much?"

"You did, but did you know that Jake can duel without a gauntlet?" Lucy asked.

"Yes, I did know," she replied.

Before we could continue the conversation a car pulled into the driveway.

"Dad's home!" Lucy screamed, running to the door.

"Be careful around my dad," John warned me. "He tends to be a bit…critical towards any mistakes people make."

"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind," I thanked him.

A minute later the front door opened and in walked a man a few inches taller than me. He had green eyes and brown hair just like John's, and was even more muscular.

"Hey, Dad," John said, standing up. He looked at us and we did the same.

"Hello, you must be Jacob DiCarten," Mr. Williams said, walking up to me.

"Yes. It's nice to meet you," I replied, shaking his hand.

"So, I hear you're a duelist," he added as he walked into the living room.

"Yeah. I became an acolyte last week. Kaijudo is really interesting," I told him.

"That's good." He turned to John and Emma. "I visited the Masters earlier and they told me about you helping them last night. Good job."

"Thank you, Mr. Williams," Emma and I replied as John said, "Thanks, Dad."

"Dinner's ready," Mrs. Williams told us from the kitchen.

"It looks delicious," I told her as she served each of us spaghetti and meatballs.

"Oh, it's nothing much," she replied.

"So, Jacob, what do you do in your spare time?" John's mom asked me.

"Before I got involved in Kaijudo I would sketch or skateboard in my spare time," I replied. "Nowadays I pretty much do the same thing."

"You like to draw?" his dad asked me. "What do you focus on when drawing?"

"Usually just whatever comes to mind," I said. "Lately it's just been Kaiju creatures."

"He's a really good artist," Emma added. "He spends most of his spare time drawing, and his sketches are super realistic."

"They're not that good," I said humbly.

"Here's one of his drawings," Emma added, pulling a drawing of Grif from her pocket. John's dad took it and examined it for a few seconds.

"This drawing is fairly good for a simple sketch," he told me. "You just need to work on the realism."

"Thank you, Mr. Williams," I replied respectfully.

Over the course of dinner we mainly discussed school.

"What do your parents do for a living?" John's mom asked me suddenly at the end.

"My mom works as a technician for a local business," I told them.

"What about your father?" his dad asked. "Is he unemployed?"

I looked down at my empty plate. "No. He died ten years ago in a car accident," I told them.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Mrs. Williams said.

"It's okay," I replied. "It happened a long time ago. What do you guys do for a living?" I asked in an effort to change the subject.

"I'm a stay-at-home mother," Mrs. Williams told me.

"I run a construction company," Mr. Williams added.

"That's cool," I said.

Everything was soon taken care of and Emma and I were right about to leave when there was a bright blue flash outside.

"Lucy, did you summon something?" Mr. Williams asked Lucy.

"No, Dad. Nothing," she replied.

Before anything more could be said Cyber Viruses flooded in through every entrance to the house.

"Stay close to me!" I shouted, creating a mana shield around us before the Viruses could get close enough.

"That ability comes in handy quite a bit," Mr. Williams said as we all pulled on gauntlets except for Lucy, who didn't have hers with her.

"Guard Lucy while we take care of the Viruses," Mrs. Williams told me as they created their own shields and summoned smaller creatures that would be better suited for dealing with Cyber Viruses.

"Do you know where your gauntlet is?" I asked Lucy when I heard a large crash outside.

"Yeah. Come on," she told me. We walked into her room and she snatched her gauntlet from her bedside table.

Once she had her own shield set up we split up and summoned creatures to deal with the Viruses.

"Kenina the Igniter!" I called, going to my go-to creature for small spaces.

When Kenina arrived I commanded her to take out the Viruses. She began frying every Cyber Virus that came close and eventually started thinning the amount of creatures in the house along with the other creatures that had been summoned.

"Who would want to attack us?" Lucy asked her parents.

"More like attack us," Emma said, referring to the three of us. "We helped the Masters defeat a few Flametropuses and a dragon the bad guys summoned, so they probably don't like us very much."

"You think?" Lucy demanded as she crushed a Virus beneath her foot.

When we finished clearing John's parents reinforced the doorways and windows as the trembling outside increased.

"Let's check it out," John told Emma and I, heading for the door.

"No! Stay in here while we call the Masters!" John's mom told us as she pulled out her phone.

"We need to make sure nothing tries to destroy the house," Emma explained.

"We'll go out to check what's going on," Mr. Williams told us. "We're better duelists."

"When was the last time they dueled?" I asked John as they rushed outside.

"A few months ago," he replied. "They haven't been called in for anything for a while."

"That's great," I said sarcastically. "They're going to need our help."

"Yeah, I know," Emma agreed. A few seconds later we saw John's parents run by as their creatures were destroyed by a large Legionnaire Lizard.

"Lucy, stay here!" John yelled as we ran outside to deal with the creatures.

"Ah, there you are," one of the duelists from the warehouse said when he saw us. He brought his Lizard back to him and had it attack us.

"Kenina, attack!" I commanded. Our creatures let out large attacks, but they were destroyed and we had to use our shields to deflect the Lizard from the house.

"Dragon Knight Volaron!" I called. The others summoned their creatures as well.

"Who's trying to kill us this time?" Volaron asked me.

"That," I told him, pointing to the Lizard.

He just chuckled and used his sword as a bat as the Lizard leaped at his chest. The creature was banished immediately, but more duelists arrived. You know what they decided to summon?

A Flametropus.

"What is it with you guys and Flametropuses?" I demanded as we began dueling the Flametropus. It was slightly stronger than our creatures, though, and banished them all.

"What creature should we summon?" Emma asked us. "None of the ones I can think of are strong enough to deal with it and we don't have the strength to summon Cassiopeia."

"Maybe we could help?" Tatsurion growled when the Masters arrived. Ray jumped onto his back and they flew up to a better angle so that Bob could launch a few rockets at the beast.

"Flametropus, Begone!" Allie commanded when the creature was weak enough. Large tendrils of darkness rose up and dragged the Flametropus across the Veil.

"These guys must really hate us," I commented when we caught all the enemy duelists and Gabe wiped their minds.

Before Gabe could wipe the last of their minds, though, Dreadclaw Dark Herald appeared in front of us with a hooded rider on its back.

"Oh, crud," I mumbled diving behind the Masters' van before the figure could see me.

"What are you doing back here?" Gargle asked me as he tinkered with some pieces of scrap.

"I don't want the person riding the dragon to recognize me," I told him. "I think I know the person."

"So, you have defeated my forces again," the rider said in a loud voice. I recognized the voice too easily. Mom.

"Here, use this," Gargle told me, handing me a strange mask. "Mask hides ID."

"Thanks, Gargle," I replied. I grabbed the mask and pulled it on. I watched my body grow.

"I look like…Miles," I said.

"Exactly," Gargle cheered. "Rider no recognize you anymore."

"You're the best," I told him. My voice even sounded like his as I emerged from behind the van.

"This will be the last time you interfere in my plans," Mom shouted. "Dreadclaw, attack!"


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16—Dreadclaw, Attack!

Thanks for the reviews! Sorry it took me so long to update. I was grounded for a while, but I'm back!

We dove out of the way of the first attack Emma, John, and I shielded ourselves as the Masters battled the dragon.

"We're going to need a mana boost if we're going to deal with that dragon," I told John and Emma. We summoned Light creatures to boost our own mana as Dreadclaw destroyed the Masters' beasts.

"We need to summon Cassiopeia again!" I told the Masters. They nodded and summoned creatures to boost their own mana. We ended up having to shield ourselves for a dozen seconds, though, before the Dreadclaw pulled up to get ready for another blast.

"Summon it, Jake!" Ray shouted.

I saw Mom's eyes widen as I went through the proper motions. "Rise, Cassiopeia Starborn!" I called. The rift opened again and we were able to control the dragon better this time in battle against Dreadclaw. Mom's creature was already weakened by the previous fight, so two direct hits from Cassiopeia banished the creature right after Mom leaped from its back in order to avoid being banished along with it.

"Don't let her escape!" Mr. Williams yelled, running towards the spot she landed at.

The others took off in pursuit, but I stayed there as I dismissed Cassiopeia. The mana demand was starting to take its toll, and I might need the extra mana in case something else happened. Plus, I didn't want to be there if they caught my mom. I might be mad she's working with the bad guys, but I'm not going to go as far as being the one to capture her. Besides, she found out I'm a duelist when John called my name. Going after her would just make it worse.

Ten minutes later, as I sat on the hood of the van, the Masters walked up the hill, carrying Mom behind them.

"I'll take that," Allie said, snatching the mask from my face.

"Hey, Gargle gave it to me," I told her as my appearance returned to normal.

"Jake?" Mom asked when she heard my voice. She looked at me and I almost ran away when I saw the look of hurt in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Mom, but what you're doing is wrong," I replied before she was placed in the back of the van with devices wrapped around her hands to prevent her from summoning anything.

"Do you have a place to stay?" Ray asked me as I jumped off the hood. "Any family?"

"No, nothing," I replied. "It was just Mom and I."

"In that case, you can stay with me until we get something figured out," John told me. "We just need to make sure my parents are okay with it."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17—A Place to Stay

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"You can stay as long as you like," his mom told me when we asked them. "We have a guest bedroom you can stay in."

"Thank you," I thanked them. I was about to summon Ion Cruiser so that I could go home and get my things when John stopped me.

"Maybe you shouldn't be summoning any creatures right now," he suggested. "I'll get it."

"Thanks," I told him as he summoned a Copper Locust.

"Anytime," he replied. "Now, climb on."

I grabbed my skateboard and climbed onto the creature's back behind John. Once I was secure he commanded the creature to take us to my house, which it did without a single ounce of resistance.

"Have you used this creature before?" I asked John.

"On several occasions, yes," he replied. "I would summon Copper Locust whenever we needed to go long distances on a mission. These guys are also pretty decent in a fight."

"Nice."

When we arrived at my house we landed in the backyard to avoid unnecessary attention. I let myself in through the backdoor and began throwing my clothes in a suitcase. I made sure I had several extra sets of clothes before grabbing my empty sketchbooks, pencils, and anything else from my room that I might need.

As I made my way to the back door again I passed by the open door to Mom's office. Could she have left documents about whatever organization she's involved in at her desk? Only one way to find out.

I set down my boxes and began searching the drawers in her desk. I found nothing until I reached a locked drawer. I used a small amount of mana to unlock the drawer and disable the traps before opening it to reveal a few manila folders. I browsed through them and chose a folder with important information, making sure to close and relock the drawer before I left.

"Is that everything?" John asked me as I tied everything together with a rope.

"Yep," I replied as I climbed onto Copper Locust's back.

"Copper Locust, I need you to carry those bags," John told the creature. It flew a few feet into the air and grabbed the rope I tied everything together with.

"Now, let's go home," John told Locust.

As it made its way back to John's house he told me, "I'm sorry about your mom."

"It's not your fault," I assured him. "She was doing bad things," I added, mainly to make myself feel better.

When we arrived at his house he had Locust set my things on the ground before we jumped off.

"Thank you for helping us," John told the creature before he dismissed it.

"I'll help you with that," he added when he saw me pick all of my things up at once.

"It's okay, I've got it," I replied.

He wouldn't take 'no' for an answer, though, and cut the rope tying it all together so that he could carry my suitcase.

"Are you okay?" Emma asked me when we walked inside. She must not have left while we were gone.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I assured her.

"Ugh, are you gonna be living with us now?" Lucy demanded as she emerged from her room to see what was going on.

"Yes, yes he is. Get over it," John told her.

"Thanks again for letting me stay with you guys," I told John's parents.

"Oh, don't worry about it," his mom assured me. "You can stay here as long as you need."

"Thank you," I repeated. "Where can I put my things?"

"The guest room is right next to mine," John told me. "I'll show you the way. C'mon." He picked up my suitcase and led me to the guest bedroom.

"What do you think?" he asked me as he turned on the lights and placed my suitcase on the bed.

"It's very…yellow," I said. The walls were painted a soft yellow and the bed sheets and blankets were a slightly darker yellow.

"Is that okay?" John asked me, eager to please.

"It's fine," I replied. "Did I ever tell you my favorite colors are red and _yellow_?"

"No, you didn't," he said with a smile. "Need help moving in?"

"No, I'll be fine," I assured him. He smiled again and walked out.

I placed my suitcase on the floor next to one of the nightstands and my messenger bag at the end of the bed, my skateboard leaning against it.

When I had everything the way I wanted it I walked out into the main part of the house again.

"Are you all moved in?" John's mom asked me when they saw me.

"Yeah, just finished," I replied.

"We're sorry about your mother," John's dad told me.

"It's okay," I assured them.

"Well, we should all go to bed," his mom told all of us. "It's been a long day."

"Okay. Goodnight," I replied before returning to my room. I got dressed in my pajamas and climbed into bed, tucking my gauntlet under the pillow in case anything happened.

The next day the alarm on my phone went off the same time as always, but I rushed in getting ready. John's house is farther from the school than mine.

"Good morning, Jacob," John's mom told me when I emerged from my room, showered and fully dressed for the day. "School's actually been cancelled today. They're having more difficulties repairing the science wing of the school from the attack, so there's actually no school for the rest of the week."

"That's good," I replied, sitting down in the living room.

"What would you like for breakfast?" she asked me.

"Um…what do you have?" I asked.

"Eggs, toast, cereal."

"I'll just have some toast," I told her, rising from my seat to go into the kitchen.

"Here you go," she said, handing me a plate with two slices of buttered toast.

"Thanks."

I sat down at the kitchen table and began eating.

"Three, two, one…" she began counting down. I was right about to ask her why she was counting when John stormed out of his room when she would've said 'zero'.

"We're gonna be late for school!" John told me as he wolfed down a slice of toast.

"Calm down, there," I said. "It's cancelled for the rest of the week so that they can finish repairing the school."

"Oh." He sat down and finished his toast.

"So, what do you guys plan on doing for today?" John's mom asked us.

"We'll probably hang out with Emma, see if the Masters need us for anything and train," John said. I just nodded and finished my own toast.

"Stay safe!" she shouted after us as John dragged me outside. I barely had time to grab my board before we were out the door.

"Where are we going?" I asked John as we traveled along the sidewalk.

"Emma's," John replied. "I promised to help her out with some computer troubles the next time we have a day off of school. Is it okay if you come along?"

"Sure, sounds good to me," I said. "How do you know if she's even awake, though?"

He smiled evilly. "Because I set a special ringtone especially for me," he explained as he pulled out his phone and dialed Emma's number. "It changes my ringtone to that of a bullhorn before eight in the morning and back to normal afterwards."

"I thought Water specialists were the ones so good with technology?" I asked him.

"Water and Light, usually," he corrected me. "I can usually figure out problems, though. Most of the time, Emma just grows impatient and freaks out after long enough."

"Oh," I said. A few rings later Emma answered her phone. I could hear her screaming from five feet away.

"WHY DID YOU SET THE RINGTONE TO A BULLHORN?" Emma demanded. "I SWEAR, YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!"

"Yeah, I know I will," he replied calmly. "Did your dad tell you? School's cancelled for the rest of the week. We're on our way over now."

"Yeah, he told me," she said. "I figured you were on your way. Why aren't you here by now, though?"

"We are," he told her before knocking on her front door. I hadn't even realized we stopped.

"Hello, there, John," her dad said when he opened the door. When he noticed me he smiled. "You must be Jacob," he added. "Emma's told me about you."

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Smith," I told him, shaking his hand.

"Emma's back in her room," he replied. "John, you know the way."

John nodded and led me through their house to Emma's room, which had a large 'DO NOT ENTER' sign taped to it.

"Emma? We're here," John said hesitantly as he eased the door open.

Before he could get far, though, a doll like the kind you'd see in a horror movie flung the door open and tackled John.

"Ah!" John screamed as Emma began laughing. She dismissed the creature before her dad came running and I helped John up.

"_That_ was for setting the ringtone to a bullhorn," Emma told him with an extra laugh.

"Yeah, well, next time don't use Razorkinder Puppet as payback," he snapped. "You know that thing freaks me out."

"Exactly," she replied, removing her gauntlet. "So, ready to help me with my computer?"

"Sure," he said. She sat him down in front of her computer and told him about the problem.

"I can't access my email," she told him. "Every time I try the computer exits."

"Let me see if I can figure it out," John said, cracking his knuckles before typing away. Nothing he did worked, though.

"Let me try," I told him. He stood up and I moved in front of the computer. I don't know a ton about computers, but I know a few creatures that do.

"Stalker Sphere!" I called. The creature appeared before me.

"Seriously? A creature?" Emma asked me. "What if my dad comes in here?"

"Easy enough to fix," I said. I made the Sphere turn itself invisible before I connected itself to the computer. Soon the creature had diagnosed and fixed the problem along with increasing her computer's speed.

"That's a neat little creature there," John told me before I dismissed it.

"Thanks," I replied. "Looks like I just cleared up most of our day."

"Looks like you did," Emma agreed. "What do you guys want to do?"

"I don't know. I usually just skate around town," I said. "There's not an extremely long list of things to do here."

"Unless you're a duelist," John corrected me.

"What's this about duelists?" Emma's dad asked as he walked in. "Sorry, but I heard you guys talking."

"Trading card games," Emma and John said quickly.

"Okay. Well, I'm off for work. See you guys later," he told us.

"Kay. See ya!" we replied as he walked out.

"That was _way_ too close," I said with a sigh. "So, what's there to do for duelists around here?"

"Well, there's always training," Emma told me. "On days off we usually just hang around the Temple, help around and take care of any dangers."

"Okay. Sounds good," I replied. We stood up and walked out.

"John, you forgot your bike in my garage last time you were here," Emma added as she grabbed a scooter.

"I didn't know you guys had stuff to ride on," I commented. "Why didn't you use them before?"

"Didn't feel like it," Emma explained. She grabbed a kick scooter from next to her door and we walked outside to wait for John to emerge from the garage with his mountain bike which was…you guessed it, green.

When the garage was closed again we set off down the road for the Temple entrance. We raced each other down a hill along the way. John and I slowly pulled ahead of Emma as John pedaled faster and I shrank as small as I could to increase speed. Eventually, though, he kicked his bike up another gear and sped ahead of us.

When we reached the bottom of the hill we regrouped and continued.

"Why aren't you at school?" Allie asked us when we arrived. "I'm used to Emma sneaking out, but I didn't think you two would."

"School was cancelled, Master Underhill," John explained. "We were bored, so we decided to come here and help out."

She looked at the three of us, but her gaze lingered on me before leading us to the 'War Room', as the Masters like to call it. It's where Panopter's located.

"Where's my mother?" I asked them. "Is she in the Temple?"

"Yes, she is," Allie told me. "We're holding her in one of our cells until we can decide what to do with her. We could remove all memories of Kaijudo, but her life is so interwoven with it that doing so may permanently damage her entire memory."

I nodded, holding back my emotions. "Well, I hope you find something to fix this problem."

"Gargle might have thought of something," Gabe told us as he approached. Gargle was walking ahead of him. "It's risky, though."

"Explain it, then," Allie told him.

"We use a Cyber Virus to only wipe the memory where she discovers that Jacob, John, and Emma are duelists," he began. "We stage an attack on Jake and his mother. Jake, pretending to be scared, 'unknowingly' shields himself from an attack. His mother will most likely begin teaching him Kaijudo and bring him into her group. It'll be like a spy on the inside."

"What's the chance of this working, though?" Master Jameson asked Gabe.

"36.934 percent chance of success," Gargle replied.

"That's too low to risk a duelist's life on," Jameson told them.

"Yeah, but it's the only chance we've got of finding out more about this group," Gabe said.

"Hold it, hold it," Ray told them. "We're still forgetting something?"

"Yeah? What is it?" Allie asked.

"This plan might or might not work, but we need to make sure Jake's okay with it first," he said. "It's _his_ life that we're risking with this plan."

They all looked at me.

"If it helps end all this faster, then I'll do it," I told them.

"Are you sure about this?" Emma asked me. "You could get killed."

"Mom would never hurt me," I assured her. "And if she's as high up in the organization as we think she is, she'll make sure nobody else hurts me either, even if they discover what I'm doing.

"I'll leave to wipe your mother's memory, then," Gabe said.

"We'll plan the attack for the day after tomorrow," Ray advised me.

I nodded. "Okay. Mom and I usually go out for dinner on those days, so you can time it for when we get home."

They nodded as well and Gabe walked out with Gargle close behind.

"So, what's on the schedule for training today?" John asked the Masters.

Ray grinned. "Practice duels."


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18—Practice Duels

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We walked out to the practice arena and drew straws to duel first. John lost, so he battled Allie and Squeaky with Tusker.

"Go, Tusker!" John shouted once the duel began. The creature charged Squeaky, but Squeaky jumped out of the way and launched a wave of bat-like creatures from her mouth. They flew at Tusker and dealt some damage before dissipating. They dueled back and forth for several more minutes before Squeaky managed to banish Tusker.

"Who's next?" Kimora asked as they left the field.

"I'll go," I said, rising to my feet.

We walked out onto the field and he summoned Mighty Shouter at the same moment I summoned Volaron.

"Are we fighting him?" Volaron asked me, gesturing to Shouter.

"Yeah, we are," I told him as Shouter let out a mighty bellow. It knocked Volaron back a few feet, but he recovered and drew his sword. He charged at Shouter and slashed at the creature's club, slicing it in two so that Shouter had to abandon it.

We dueled back and forth for several minutes before Volaron managed to banish Shouter.

The duel after that was Emma against Ray, so we got to watch Grif fight Bob for about five minutes before Bob banished Grif with a well-aimed missile.

Once we finished training an hour later we had to leave due to Gabe leading out my mother, whom had a Cyber Virus attached to her head in order to keep her manageable.

"Hey, I've got a question," I told Ray as we walked out. "When I began training, my gauntlet was for fire, but now it's mainly Light with some Fire mixed in. Why did that happen?"

"Your ideals changed, so your specialization followed," Ray explained. "In the beginning, you were all about power and pride, so you were a Fire acolyte. Now that you've turned toward keeping order and peace, you've turned to Light with a bit of Fire still left in your mind."

"Oh," I said, trying to understand what he was saying.

He nodded and I was about to leave the studio when he raced after me, yelling "Stop!" as he did so.

"What happened?" I asked him.

"I need your gauntlet," he replied. "We can't risk your mother finding it."

"Oh, good idea," I said. I deactivated my gauntlet and handed it to him before walking out, but before I completely left I remembered something.

"Wait," I told him. "What about the man who took my mom's place in the attacks? He'll recognize me the moment he looks at me."

"We'll have to hope that your mother has enough authority and respect in her group to discourage any accusations," Ray told me.

I wasn't confident in his theory, but there was nothing else to do to prevent being uncovered as a spy.

"You know, I never would have expected a person specializing in Light and Fire to go with that plan," John commented. "This is more of something for Darkness."

"I'm just surprised that you'd go against your mom like this," Emma commented. "It's more of a Darkness-attribute."

"I just want to do what's right and fix any damage caused. Light stands for order, and destroying the Veil would only bring chaos. I may not be a stereotypical Light specialist, but there are still some ideals I stick to, like order," I explained.

"Oh," was the only response before I skated away. it was barely lunchtime, but the day felt like it had dragged on forever.

I skated to my improvised skate park and hung out there for a while, practicing various tricks before sitting down to draw on top of a bit of scaffolding. The view from there allowed me to see every building in a three-block radius.

I was sitting there for about thirty minutes, finishing a sketch of Tusker, before a familiar voice approached.

"Well, look who it is," Miles sneered as he walked through the gates with two of his lackeys in tow.

"How did you find this place?" I demanded, flipping my book closed.

"You took Jess here a few time so, of course, she brought me here as well," he said. The words hit deep.

"Did you know this is where she first told me how she felt about me? She told me that she was growing tired of you but was keeping you around for kicks."

Ouch. By then rage was boiling inside me, and I was barely able to keep myself from summoning a creature to beat them up, but instead leaped from the scaffolding and landed in front of them without a scratch.

"You really want to get into this?" Miles asked me. "You don't have your two friends around to help you out."

"Oh, I'm sure," I snapped before throwing a punch at his gut.

He managed to avoid it and tried to punch me in the jaw, but I ducked out of the way. That day of martial arts training really does come in handy. I dodged any punches and managed to hit him in the chest before his two goons grabbed my arms.

As Miles wound up for another hit I sensed my body act of its own accord, creating a mana shield that pushed them back twenty feet.

"What happened here?" Gabe demanded as he rushed onto the site.

"How did you know I'd be here?" I asked him.

"I saw the kids walk into the alleyway and figured they were no good, so I followed," he explained. "What did you do to them?"

"Mana shield," I replied. "Not a bit one. They were trying to beat me up."

"W-w-what did you just d-do?" Miles stuttered as they stood up.

"Don't worry, nothing you'll remember," Gabe told them as he released three Cyber Viruses to wipe their minds of the incident.

As he wiped their minds we managed to get them to the street.

"Could you make them forget about the construction site?" I asked Gabe before he removed the Viruses.

He studied me for a second before agreeing to do so, instructing the Viruses to remove specific memories before banishing them.

Before they had a chance to fully awaken we were gone, Gabe to the Temple and my to John's house to collect my things.

"So, you're finally leaving?" John's sister asked me as I grabbed my bags.

"I was only here a day, no need to be so rude," I snapped before walking out.

I didn't feel like skateboarding, so I summoned Ion Cruiser to take me to my house. We landed a block away to avoid raising suspicions from my mom before I banished Cruiser.

"Jacob? Is that you?" Mom asked me as I walked in through the front door.

"Yeah, it's me," I replied.

"How was the sleepover at John's?" she asked from the couch. Everything looked normal.

I sent a silent 'thank you' to the Masters for providing me with an alibi before I said, "It was great. Thanks for letting me spend the night at his house."

"No problem. It's good to see you making new friends," she replied. There was no sign that she remembered what happened, so I went to my room to relax a while and eat lunch.

After about an hour I got bored so I pulled out my laptop and fired it up. Within seconds of logging in I received a notification that Emma and John wanted to video chat with me so I accepted and their faces appeared on the screen.

"How did you find my user id?" I asked them.

"You posted a picture of yourself next to your name," John said simply. "So, how's your day been?"

"Not bad," I replied. "Well, except for the fight with Miles and his two goons."

"What? Tell us everything," Emma demanded.

I explained what happened as I adjusted my position to a more comfortable one.

'You're lucky Master Wallace was there," John told me. "If it wasn't for him, we would've had to deal with three kids who think we're freaks."

"Miles already thinks we're freaks," I replied.

"Oh. Good point," Emma added.

We chatted for about twenty minutes before they were called away from their computers to help their parents with stuff.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow," I told them before ending the chat.

When their faces disappeared I opened a game designer application on my laptop.

I know I said earlier that I didn't know a lot about computers, but that was when it comes to fixing them. I've been taking a few computer courses over the last year, so I can do some simple programming and a couple more complex things. My plan that day was to finish a simple app I started a month ago.

"Everything alright in there?" mom asked when she heard the computer keys clacking.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied, turning towards her. She saw what I was doing and smiled before backing out.

When I was sure she was gone I finished the program and started a new one. This was more of a secret, though, and much more complex, because it was a software update for the Stalker Sphere I use. It would take me hours longer than any other one, so I brought my laptop with me when John and I went to Emma's house the next day.

"What's with the laptop?" Emma asked me when I pulled it out.

"I'm creating a software update to increase a Stalker Sphere's systems," I explained as I reached the three-quarter done point.

"Um…I'm pretty sure you can't update a Stalker Sphere," John told me. "Their Light Civ tech is way too advanced."

"Oh, really?" I asked him. "Willing to bet on it?"

"Ten bucks says you can't do it," John told me.

"Here's another five," Emma added, pulling out the money.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19—Update

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"I can sense your confidence in me growing," I said sarcastically as my fingers flew over the keyboard.

"Get ready to lose your money," I told them an hour later when I finished it.

Emma's dad wasn't home so I summoned my usually Stalker Sphere and had it plug into my laptop.

Within seconds millions of lines of code appeared on my screen.

"Whoa," I commented, trying to look for the right spot to insert my little piece of code.

"Let us know when you're done," John told me as he pulled out a book to read.

"Done," I told him seconds later. The spot I needed was near the top, so I just inserted my piece of code and removed the Sphere.

"Do you guys remember how Spheres have a limited zoom?" I asked them as I tested the Sphere's functions. "Well, check this out," I added. I connected the camera feed to my laptop and sent it to the roof. When the video appeared on my screen we gathered around as I zoomed in on a coffee shop three miles away. We watched as my mom ordered a latte and a scone. I didn't even know she likes scones.

"How's that for zoom?" I asked them.

"What about stealth?" they asked.

I summoned the Sphere back to us.

"Do you remember how a stealthed Sphere always has a telltale glimmer? Well, this doesn't," I replied. I rendered it invisible and had them tell me where it is. Every time they guessed, they were wrong.

"I win the bet," I told them, holding my hand out. They slapped the money in my hand and I placed it in my wallet.

I was about to gloat further when we got a call from the Masters.

"Yeah? What's going on?" I asked when I answered the phone.

"We've got more Flametropus action at the docks," Allie told me. "Before you come, though, you three need to stop by the Temple."

"We're on our way," John told tem. I ended the call and we walked outside. We would need speed, so I summoned Ion Cruiser to give us a lift.

When we arrived at the dojo we ran down to the Temple, where Allie met us.

"We can't risk anybody finding you, so you need disguises," Allie told us. She handed each of us various creatures or devices that would change our appearance and we did so before leaving on Ion Cruiser again.

"What is it with these thing?" Volaron demanded when I summoned him.

"No clue," I replied.

He just frowned slightly and drew his blade before charging into battle. We actually managed to banish all the Flametropuses, but just like all the other times Dreadclaw and his rider destroyed our creatures.

"Cassiopeia Starborn!" I commanded, summoning the dragon. "Ready for a rematch?" I yelled at the rider.

"You are the one who commands this creature?" the rider demanded. Yep, definitely Mom's voice.

"Yeah. Cassiopeia, attack!" I commanded. The dragons flew into battle, but Cassiopeia is way stronger, so Mom fled the scene before we could find her.

"Your mother is becoming much more dangerous," Kimora told me. "You'd better hope your plan works."

"It will," I assured him. "Why is it they always come to the docks?" I asked Gabe.

"The Veil is relatively weak here," he told me as he scanned the area. "It makes it easier for the duelists to summon larger creatures."

When we finished rounding up duelists the Masters dismissed us to go and recharge our mana for training.

Everything went pretty smoothly the next day, so I'll skip to the day of the 'attack'.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20—The 'Attack'

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* * *

"Remember to make sure you look completely surprised when the Fear Fang arrives," Ray reminded me that day during training.

"Why does it have to be a Fear Fang?" I groaned. I've never liked those things ever since one attacked me that fateful day this started on.

"I'm sorry, but this is the best way to make it more believable," he explained. "Your dislike for the creatures will make it easier for you to act. We won't tell you when it will happen either so that you will be genuinely surprised."

"Great," I muttered.

"Good luck!" Emma shouted after me as I walked up to the dojo.

A few minutes after I walked outside Mom pulled up to pick me up for dinner.

"How was karate?" Mom asked me as I climbed in and tossed my stuff in the back seat.

We went to the restaurant we usually go to and talked a lot about school and her work.

On the ride back home I kept looking out the window of the car, but kept my calm attitude on the outside.

"Do you have a lot of homework?" Mom asked me when we got home.

"Nope. School's cancelled the rest of the week, remember?" I asked her.

"Oh."

We got out of the car and I was about to grab my things from the back of the car when I felt claws grab the back of my hoodie and throw me backwards.

I let out a terrified scream as I hit the ground and saw a Fear Fang running at me.

Man, I really hate those things.

I scrambled backwards, and right as it leaped at me I let the fear inside me flood out as I held up my hands in a defensive position. I created a mana shield and I bounced off. I let the shield falter and ran to the house. It caught up to me again, but before I could do anything I heard Mom call out.

"Roton the Destroyer!" she commanded. A Darkness portal appeared and an Evil Toy creature appeared, destroying the Fear Fang.

"M-m-mom?" I stuttered as I slid down the outside wall of the house.

"Jake?" she repeated. "Are you okay?"

"W-w-w-what happened?" I asked, eyes still filled with semi-real fear. "What was that thing?"

"Jake, I need you to come inside with me," she replied, somehow getting me to my feet. "I'll explain everything inside."

I shakily followed her inside and sat down on the couch.

"What was that thing?" I asked her. "What was it I did? Is there something wrong with me?"

"No, there's nothing wrong with you," she assured me.

"That thing you saw out there is called a Fear Fang," she added. "It's from a place very different from Earth, known as the Kaiju Realm."

I asked her every question I could make up as I put on my best act.

"The Kaiju Realm is divided into five civilizations," she began. She continued by telling me the history of Kaijudo and what our powers are.

Apparently, we can do more than control creatures and create mana shields. She told me that, as I get stronger and more experienced, I will be able to increase my strength and speed. Some of the first people with our abilities were able to fuse with their creatures, increasing the creature's power and permanently bonding the two for life. The two will always be able to communicate with each other across large distances. The moment I heard that I knew I was going to bond with Volaron, or at least try.

"Do you believe me?" Mom asked me when she finished explaining.

I deep breath and sighed. "Considering all I've been through today, yes."

She smiled and nodded. "I'll take you to meet the other gifted people I know and work with tomorrow. I'll take the day of, so you'll be back in time for your karate lesson."

"I understand," I replied.

"Good. Now, the one thing you have to remember is that you are not allowed to tell anybody else about this. No matter what," she added.

I nodded again and she smiled before going out to grab my things. As she walked out I sent Emma a quick message saying that it went perfectly and erased any trace of it from my phone.

"You should get to bed," Mom told me.

"It's been a long day, and we have an even longer one ahead of us."

"Kay," I replied. I grabbed my things and went into my room, where I called John.

"Hey," he said when he answered. "How'd dinner go?" he asked. we had to assume Mom could hear us, so we couldn't get straight to the point.

"It was amazing. I won't be able to hang out with you guys tomorrow, though," I added. "My mom and I are going to visit family."

It was a flimsy excuse. My mother and I have no other family.

John got the hint but didn't add anything else to do with it. "Well, have fun tomorrow," he told me.

"I will. Bye," I replied before hanging up.

After that I quietly summoned my Stalker Sphere and had it get a message to Volaron.

"Tell him that the next time I summon him I'll be with the enemy, but he must not worry," I told the Sphere. "Tell him to act the way he did the first time I summoned him."

One of the Sphere's lights blinked a confirmation so I dismissed it to pass on the message.

When that was done and over with I changed into my pajamas and climbed into bed for some extra sleep.

The next day I woke up an hour earlier than Mom so I got ready for the day.

"Well, you're certainly awake early," Mom commented when she saw me. "I'll hurry up so that we can get going," she added. She actually rushed through everything, finishing in ten minutes.

"Let's get going," se said, grabbing her car keys.

I grabbed my messenger bag, with laptop and sketchpad with pencils inside, and followed her out.

"Why do you have that bag with you?" she asked when we were in the car.

"Habit," I replied. she just nodded and drove us to a warehouse at the house much bigger than the ones at the docks.

As we walked in I noticed that the warehouse was actually one central room with several smaller rooms and offices branching off.

"Is this your son?" a man asked Mom. I immediately recognized him as the man who originally controlled Dreadclaw.

"That's me," I replied.

His eyes widened at the sound of my voice, but said nothing as Mom introduced me.

"Jake, this is my second-in-command, Rob Martin," she told me. "Rob, this is my son, Jacob."

"Nice to meet you," I told him, shaking his hand. I put an appearance of calm on the outside, but if you focused you could see a hint of panic.

"So, I heard a Fear Fang attacked you guys last night," he commented.

Mom explained the situation as I looked around the warehouse in awe. I originally thought there were just a few duelists like us, but now I know it's way bigger than that.

"So, you wanna train to be a duelist?" Rob asked me.

I nodded. "Yes," I said.

Mom led me to a room with hundreds of folders, each one full of papers.

"Look over the creatures in each of these and pick one from each civilization," Mom told me before walking out with Rob.

I immediately picked up a Light folder and was surprised when I saw Volaron on the first page. They must have written him down after we helped at the docks.

I grabbed the paper and searched through the other folders until I found Kenina and the other creatures I summoned for the first time.

"I'm done," I told Mom when she walked back in five minutes later.

She nodded and led me to the main room, where she taught me how to summon and control creatures. She had me summon each creature I found a sheet for and briefly control them before we got to Volaron.

"Summon your Light creature, and we will see if you can duel with it," Rob told me.

I barely suppressed a smile as I went through the motion and called out "Dragon Knight Volaron!"

"What are you going?" Rob demanded as Volaron emerged from the portal. "You'll kill us all!"

"Who dares summon me?" Volaron demanded, looking at all of us. My Stalker Sphere must have reached him in time.

"Um, I do," I said with 'fake' confidence.

"You? You're only a small boy," he stated.

"Actually, I'm pretty tall for my age," I added. "Anyway, I need your help to fight that creature," I told him, pointing to a Nature creature Rob summoned.

He narrowed his eyes at me before nodding and drawing his sword.

"Um, attack," I told him, sending the command. He chuckled at my acting and charged the creature, destroying it with one hit.

"Who's next?" Volaron demanded.

"I recognize this creature," Rob stated.

"What are you talking about?" I demanded.

Before Mom could repeat my question Rob called the word I had come to dread.

"Dreadclaw!" Rob called. Before he could finish the summons Mom held out her hand, ending it.

"What were you talking about?" Mom demanded. "Summoning Dreadclaw is only for emergencies!"

"Do you not recognize this creature?" Rob demanded. "It is the one that is always summoned by one of the Masters' acolytes!"

"You seriously think my son would be part of that?" Mom screamed.

If only she knew.

"Wait…" Volaron began, giving up his cover. He began charging at us, so I dismissed him.

"I suggest you use a different creature," Mom told me before chewing out Rob.

I returned to the room with the folders and searched for a sheet with a small but powerful Light bird.

"How about this one?" I asked Mom, handing her the sheet with the picture of Thunder Guardian Shaw K'Naw.

"Sounds good. It can be a bit difficult to control, but very powerful," she replied.

I summoned Shaw K'Naw and battled a small Darkness creature she summoned I easily destroyed the Evil Toy.

"Well, look at who's finally decided to join us," an unfortunately familiar voice commented.

I turned around and saw none other than Miles, and do you know what creature he had?

Fear. Fang.

"Shaw K'Naw, attack!" I commanded. My creature swooped and destroyed the Fear Fang with an intense energy beam.

"What was that for?" Miles demanded, charging up to me.

"I don't like Fear Fangs," I growled.

"Aw, is little Jake afraid of the big bad wolf?" he teased me.

"Do you have a problem if he is?" Mom demanded.

Miles seemed to shrink in size before her before mumbling a "No," and walking away to do something else.

"Why is it the two of you aren't friends anymore?" Mom asked me. I never told her about Jessica and Miles.

"It's private," I replied as I dismissed my creature.

They continued by teaching me more basic attacks before we moved onto harder and more complex commands and forms.

"Why did you summon Dragon Knight Volaron?" Rob demanded when Mom walked away to take care of something else.

"It looked cool," I told him calmly. "Why?"

"That creature is a partner of a particular acolyte of the Masters that always seems to disrupt our plans. If I didn't know better, I'd say you look a lot like that acolyte."

"It's a good thing you know better, then," I replied.

"The thing is, I'm not sure your mother was right when she assured me you've never heard of Kaijudo before yesterday," he told me. "You take 'martial arts' lessons at the dojo above the Kaijudo Temple, yet you never knew it. You managed to successfully summon and dismiss a very powerful hybrid creature.

He was right about to add something when Mom walked up to us.

"My boss jus called me at work," she told us. "Rob, can you begin Jake's combat training?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Um, is that necessary?" I asked her. "I've already got martial arts lessons, which begin in five hours."

"I'm sure they don't teach this kind of combat at the dojo," Rob told me with an evil grin on his face.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21—Combat Training

"In martial arts, you usually use your body, and that is often useful," Rob told me as we walked along a hallway to a different room. "Sometimes, though, other methods are required. If you run out of mana, it's gonna take more than simple karate to defend yourself against a Kaiju creature."

He led me into a room lined with various weapons, both real and for practice.

"Select weapons that appeal to you," Rob told me, pointing to a wall of real weapons.

I raised my eyebrows at him but he did waver. I wasn't sure if it was wise to give weapons like this to a teenager, which it isn't, for those of you reading this. I went over to the rack and looked at the various weapons, ranging from bows and arrows to quarterstaffs and swords.

I perused the collection before grabbing a hardwood staff and two fighting knives. The knives appealed to me, but the staff was just for variety.

He took the knives from me and grabbed a staff from the wall.

His plan soon became apparent when we began fighting back and forth. I learned pretty fast, learning how to block his attacks. After I finally managed to land an attack he had me move on to the knives, handing me two wooden practice knives.

We fought back and forth again, but I was actually able to land several solid attacks on his arms and legs before he ended practice. I placed my things in my own little cubicle. I went to a break room to eat lunch (PB&J sandwich and a bottle of water).

"So, you're the boss's kid?" a duelist asked me, sitting down in the chair across from me.

"Yeah, that's me," I replied. "Name's Jacob DiCarten."

He shook my hand. "Michael Hanson."

I nodded and finished my bottle of water.

"So, how'd you get involved in this?" Michael asked me.

"Fear Fang attacked my mom and I," I replied. "You?"

"When I was a kid, I discovered I could summon and control creatures after watching your parents do so. I taught myself how to do the same thing and kept myself safe, being a homeless orphan and all," he replied.

"Wait, wait," I told him. "Did you say my _parents _did this? As in both of them?"

"Yeah, but your dad was different," he told me. "He was wearing a weird yellow glove."

I froze. My dad was a Kaijudo duelist? Even more, he knew the Duel Masters?"

"How was training?" Mom asked me, walking into the room.

"It was good," I replied.

When Michael walked out I walked up to Mom. "Why didn't you tell me the truth?" I demanded.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22—The Truth

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"You weren't ready for Kaijudo," she replied, acting oblivious.

"That's not what I'm talking about!" I shouted. "You knew Dad was a Kaijudo duelist! You could've told me yesterday!"

"How did you find out about that?" she hissed, grabbing my arm.

"I asked Michael how he got involved in Kaijudo," I snapped, pulling my arm away. "Why didn't you tell me?" I repeated.

She sighed. "We can't talk about this here," she told me. I frowned but followed her outside to the docks, where we stood on a pier.

"Spill. Now," I told her.

She pulled a Kaijudo glove from her pocket.

"This used to be your father's," she told me. "He wasn't just a Kaijudo duelist, either. He used to be a Duel Master, one of Light. He joined a man known as the Choten to bring peace to both sides of the Veil. Ten years ago, he left the Choten and returned to us, but was killed b the Choten's remaining forces before the Choten himself died.

"Dad…a Duel Master?" I mumbled.

"Yes," she replied. "To us his name was Nigel DiCarten, but to the Masters he was known as Nigel Brightmore."

I knew the name. The Masters told me that Brightmore was the absolute stereotype of Light: strict, uptight, and everything by the book. that was similar to how Dad acted, but was a lot kinder.

"Are you okay?" Mom asked me. I had been silent for a few minutes to figure this out.

"Yeah," I muttered. "Just shocked. Why didn't you tell me about this yesterday?" I demanded.

"The truth is, I wasn't sure if I could," she replied. "I've kept this a secret ever since I found out."

"You could've confided in me," I told her, not acknowledging her tears. "He was my dad."

"I know, and I'm sorry," she replied.

We talked about Dad for a while before returning to the warehouse for further training.

"It's time to the Test," Rob told me when he found us.

"Test?" I asked. "What test?"

"Every time we have a new recruit, we interrogate them with a Cyber Virus attached to the person to detect any lies," Mom explained.

"Can I got to the bathroom first?" I asked them.

They nodded so I walked to the bathroom and locked the door behind me.

When I was sure the door was locked and nobody was around I summoned a small Water creature that will keep my vital signs normal and, essentially, beat the lie detector.

"Let's go," I said when I emerged, creature completely hidden.

Rob led me into a dark room as Mom watched from the corner.

"This will only hurt if you lie," he told me as he fastened a Cyber Virus to my head.

"So it won't hurt?" I replied, cocky smiled painted on my face.

He just sneered at me and began the questioning.

"When was the first time you ever heard of Kaijudo?" he asked me.

"Yesterday," I replied. My creature must have done its job, because nothing hurt. He continued with a long series of questions, from my life to what I know about Kaijudo.

"Have you ever met a student of the Kaijudo Masters?" he asked me eventually.

"Not that I know of, no," I told him.

After thirty more minutes of questions he removed the Cyber Virus and checked its results.

"It looks like you've passed," Rob told me unhappily.

"No need to look so cheerful," I said sarcastically as I pulled my beanie back on and walked out. I detached my creature from my body and dismissed it as I met with Mom.

"You will train Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, after your martial arts practice," Mom told me. "Speaking of which, we should get you ready for your lessons."

We left the warehouse and went home, where I took a shower and put on new clothes.

"Have fun," Mom told me when she dropped me off.

"Thanks," I replied. Before I could get out of the car Mom pulled out Dad's Kaijudo gauntlet and handed it to me.

"You should have it," she told me.

I nodded and walked inside.

"The others are waiting for you downstairs," Kimora told me when I walked into the office.

We walked down the stairs to the Temple, where we went to the Temple, where we went to the Masters' table. Kimora handed me my gauntlet and I pulled it on as John and Emma walked up behind me.

"How's it go?" Ray asked me.

"It went perfectly," I told them. "The attack did its job. Mom brought me into her group. They trained me some and put me through a lie detector, but I passed perfectly. I've successfully infiltrated it, bit it will take me a while to convince my mother's second-in-command. He's the one who controlled Dreadclaw when Mom was unable.

"Is there anything else?" Jameson asked me.

"I also learned something about my father that we'd all find interesting," I replied. "One of the duelists told me that he saw both of my parents dueling."

"Your father was a duelist like you?" Ray asked me.

"Not exactly," I replied. "Apparently, he wore a Kaijudo gauntlet. It was yellow."

"One of us?" Jameson demanded.

"One of your predecessors," I corrected him. "I confronted my mother and she told me that my father was the Light Duel Master. To me he was known as 'Dad', but to you he was known as Nigel Brightmore.

"WHAT!" all of the Masters and my friends screamed.

"Brightmore?" Ray asked. "He was pissed off when he found out that my dad was a Duel Master, so how could he not practice what he preaches?"

"How do we know your mother wasn't lying?" Jameson demanded.

"She gave me his gauntlet," I told them, holding out Dad's gauntlet.

Gabe took it and ran a few tests to confirm its ownership before returning it to me.

"It is Brightmore's gauntlet," Gabe confirmed.

"I can't believe it," Ray muttered.

I shrugged. "Dad kept a lot of secrets," I told them.

"Did you summon Volaron?" Emma asked me.

"Yeah, but his cover was almost immediately blown so I had to vanish him.

They nodded and were sent off for training.

"Today, instead of dueling, we will be learning about more creatures to increase your dueling arsenal," Gabe told me, steering me away from the others.

We went to the library and looked through the Light section. Gabe handed me a stack of tablets and had me go through them as he looked for more. There were several hybrid creatures, but all were either Light, Fire, or a combination of one of the civilizations and one of the other three.

"These are some cool creatures," I commented as I looked through the pile, "but why do I need to be doing this?"

"It is mandatory for all acolytes at some point in their training," he explained. "It expands their adaptivity to different situations."

"Oh." I grunted as I finished the pile. He set another stack in front of me and put the original tablets back after I memorized them.

"Can I be done yet?" I groaned an hour later.

Gabe nodded so we took care of the tablets before going up to the dojo so that I could go home.

"How were lessons today?" Mom asked me when I got home.

"They were good," I replied. "I'm gonna be in my room if you need me.

She nodded and turned the page in her magazine.

I retreated to my room and pulled out my laptop.

Soon I had a program designer opened and was typing line after line of code. It was a special request from Gabe. He wants me to create a bug so that they can access the bad guys' files.

"Whatcha working on?" Mom asked me, opening the door halfway.

"Nothing much," I replied, switching the screen to a different program with a stroke of the keys. "Just a card game."

"Oh. Make sure you get to bed on time," she replied. She closed the door and I was right about to continue on the bug when I sensed something in my room.

"Thunder Guardian Shaw K'Naw," I whispered. The light bird appeared and filled the room with light, revealing two Stalker Spheres that Mom must have just sent in there.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23—Privacy

"I really appreciate the privacy," I shouted sarcastically as I had my creature destroy the two Spheres. She didn't say anything, but I searched the room for other bugs. There were a few on the door. I destroyed the video bug and kinda hoped Mom was listening as I smashed the audio bug. I was satisfied by a small squeal.

"You all right out there?" I asked her, opening the door.

She regained her composure and removed the earbud, now smoking slightly, and nodded. I grinned evilly and closed the door. I did another scan of the room and my computer, so I downloaded a scanner onto my phone and finished the spyware program before falling asleep. For unknown reasons, school was resuming the next day. Mom blames the school board.

The next day I ran a simple scan of my locker and removed two more bugs. I was getting annoyed, but I would have to deal with it.

"What's with the bugs/" John asked me.

"My mother doesn't trust me," I replied.

"I thought she did," Emma said.

"Her second-in-command doesn't, and he told her about his suspicions," I explained. "I found two Stalker Spheres and several bugs in my room."

They apologized and we went to gym for first period. Miles actually picked me for his team, but the coach switched out players to even out the teams, so I was still on John's team in the end.

"Hey, DiCarten," Miles said during lunch. "Come sit with us."

"No, thanks," I replied automatically. Sitting with him were duelists.

He frowned and narrowed his eyes but kept talking with his friends.

"What was that about?" John asked me.

"He's one of them," I whispered. They nodded and we avoided him the rest of the day.

"Hey, DiCarten," Miles said after school as we went to practice.

"What do you want?" I demanded.

"Your mom wants to see you," he said.

"I'll be back," I told my friends.

"What does my mother want?" I demanded as Miles and I walked onto a large area of empty land.

He turned toward me and I realized the truth. Mom didn't need anything.

"How is it you're so good at Kaijudo?" he demanded, pushing me back with a mana shield. I pushed back and we took several steps apart.

"It must run in the family," I told him. "What's your problem?"

"My problem," he began, "is that you were able to summon a creature on your first try. Nobody can do that. Did you get training from the Masters?"

I took a step back, surprised.

"What? Are you crazy? Why would I go to the Masters? I guess I'm just gifted."

He narrowed his eyes. "I doubt it," he growled. He was getting ready to duel, and I was just about to summon Volaron for a quick victory when he summoned Hornblade Dragon.

"Oh, he won't get the job done," I said, referring to Volaron.

"Cassiopeia Starborn," I called. As my dragon appeared his jaw dropped. "Surprise," I grinned. I easily destroyed his dragon.

"You're an acolyte!" he shouted in surprise.

"Go, Cyber Virus!" John shouted as he and Emma rushed onto the scene. Five Viruses swarmed Miles before one of them attached to his head.

"How did you manage to find us?" I asked them as they approached.

"We followed you," John said simply.

I nodded and turned toward Miles. "What should we do? Move back and banish the Viruses?" I asked them.

"We'll have to detach them first, but yeah," John said.

We hid behind a pile of rubble and detached the Viruses, banishing them afterwards.

As Miles wandered around in confusion we ran to the dojo.

"You are late, acolytes," Jameson said as we ran into the Temple.

I explained everything to him as he handed me my gauntlet for training.

"I hope you're well trained with Cyber Viruses," he told John as we began training.

He shrugged. "My skills can be questionable," he told Jameson. "Water isn't my chosen Civ. That's my sister's specialty," he added.

"Speaking of your sister," Jameson began. "We need you three to train with her today."

"Do we have to?" John groaned.

"Yes, you do," he replied, in a tone that told us not to argue.

"Looks like we're stuck with you today," John said as his sister, Lucy, approached sullenly.

"Mm-hmm," she replied, pulling on her gauntlet.

"Does she even have a partner creature?" I asked John.

"Of course I do!" Lucy squealed. She went through the stances and shouted, "Cyber Lord Finbarr!" at the top of her lungs.

"You're dueling with a creature from the Council of Logos?" we demanded as the blue humanoid creature appeared in a metal combat suit.

"Ah, he looks so cute," Emma gasped. The markings on Finbarr's head glowed and Emma smacked herself.

"Hey!" Emma shouted.

Finbarr turned to Lucy. "What must we do now?" he demanded.

"I'll go first," I said. Finbarr was annoying me, so I was going to have Volaron put him in his place.

"Dragon Knight Volaron!" I commanded. He appeared in front of us.

"You dare bring a fire creature into my presence?" Finbarr demanded.

"Technically, I'm also part-fire.

"You are still part of fire!" Finbarr yelled.

Volaron looked down at me. "Can we squish this baby?" he asked.

"I. Am. Not. A. Baby!" Finbarr shouted. He tried to use mind control, but it didn't work.

"You can't use mind control on a Light creature," I said. "Too much tech."

Finbarr narrowed his eyes but used his high water rank to summon several other creatures.

"Go on," I told Volaron, who looked ready to fight. He drew his sword and went to battle, but before he could take a step countless Water creatures swarmed him.

"Volaron!" I shouted. He wasn't banished, though.

A few seconds passed as more creatures swarmed, but then a pair of wings made from pure fire emerged, banishing all the swarming creatures at once.

"You have wings?" I demanded.

He shrugged. "I usually don't have to use them. I'm part Armored Dragon, remember?"

"Oh," I replied. We began battling Finbarr in his suit, but he was too fast for us.

Or at least, he was.

"Keep him distracted!" I shouted as I pulled out my laptop. If I can reprogram Light tech, I'm pretty sure I can hack Water tech.

As I proceeded to hack the suit Finbarr tried to get me, but Volaron managed to get in his way.

Fifteen minutes later I finished and sent the signal.

Finbarr's suit immediately ground to a screeching halt.

"Goodbye, baby," Volaron said before flattening the suit, dismissing Finbarr with it.

"Hey!" Lucy yelled. "That wasn't nice!"

I shrugged. "Use better creatures next time," I told her.

"Jacob," Ray said as he walked up to us.

"Yes?" I asked.

"How would you feel about dueling another hybrid creature?"

I smiled. "I would be honored."

Everyone else left the floor as we got into position.

"Tatsurion the Unchained!" Ray called.

"Who do we get to duel now?" Bob asked.

"Me," Volaron said, his fiery wings brightening.

"Finally, a challenge." Bob cracked his knuckles as Ray climbed onto his shoulder.

Not to let him beat me, I also climbed onto Volaron's shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Volaron asked me as I anchored myself by grabbing his armor.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" I replied. "I'm sticking by your side."

He didn't say anything but we charged Bob. His head erupted in flames before hitting Volaron in the middle. He picked up Bob and threw him to the ground and drew his sword.

"Let's take him down," I told Volaron.

He slashed at Bob, but missed.

"Missiles!" Ray yelled.

Soon five missiles were flying at us, but I managed to block them all with a gigantic mana shield.

"Take to the air," Ray told Bob. His wings came out and they took to the air. We did the same thing and it soon turned into an aerial battle, sword versus chains, Bob's missiles against Volaron's laser beams.

Eventually, though, it became apparent that Volaron was stronger as he swatted Bob out of the sky and banished him.

"We win!" I yelled as I jumped from Volaron's shoulder to the ground. I dismissed him.

"Congratulations on your victory," Ray told me.

I bowed my head. "Thank you for the battle," I replied.

He smiled. "Anytime, man. You're a pretty good duelist."

"Yeah. Plus, if Volaron loses I can just summon Cassiopeia for a quick win," I said confidently.

Ray just chuckled. "Yeah, okay," he said.

"Jacob, we need to ask you some questions about how your mother's group trained you," Gabe asked me as he and Kimora approached us.

"Sure," I replied. I followed them to Gabe's lab, underneath the library, and answered any questions they asked me.

"They teach you how to use weapons?" Gabe demanded when I mentioned it.

"Yeah," I replied. I didn't see anything wrong with it, so I didn't say anything more. There wasn't much to say about it, though, so they let me go home soon.

Over the next few weeks things steadily grew better. I got more and more skilled at dueling, and was soon one of the best duelists in my mom's organization and in the Kaijudo Temple. I became very capable with my chosen weapons, and even managed to convince Toji to build me a staff that collapses. He wouldn't build me collapsible knives, though. He drew the line there.

Three weeks after this began I got a big surprise.

I was accidentally sent to the Fire Civilization.

Alone.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24—A Major Favor

Thanks for the reviews! Sorry it took me so long to review, but I've had a bit of writer's block.

* * *

"What's wrong?" he demanded.

I explained everything that happened. "I need you to summon Bob so that I can get back home," I pleaded.

"Sure thing," he replied. "How is it you have signal, though?"

"No idea," I said. I ended the call and soon we were back on Earth when Ray summoned Bob.

"Thanks, Master Pierce," I told him. "I gotta get going before my mom has a full-on meltdown."

He nodded. "Good luck."

"Thanks."

I ran out of the Temple and rode my skateboard, which survived the entire trip somehow, to the warehouse as I shrank my staff and put it in my bag.

"Where is my son?" I heard Mom demand as I approached. Someone must have been sent to find me.

"Right here," I said, walking around the corner and picking up my skateboard.

"Jake!" she screamed. She ran and tackled me in a hug.

"Can't…breathe," I gasped.

She released me and took a step back. "How did you get back?" she asked me.

"I managed to create a breach in the Veil," I replied.

She froze. "How do you know how to do that?" she asked.

Uh-oh.

"I just tried stances and movements that looked correct. It took me over an hour, and a lot of time hiding, but I was finally able to create a breach. Fortunately it only took me a couple minutes to close the breach, though," I said, saying the first lie that came to mind.

"That's impossible," Rob stated as Mom's eyes widened. "You have to be specially trained to open and close breaches in the Veil. We never gave you that kind of training."

"What are you insinuating?" I demanded.

"You're an acolyte, aren't you?" Mom asked me.

Double uh-oh.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25—Busted

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"I'm sorry, Mom, but what you're doing is wrong," I told her.

Her eyes widened even further.

"When the time comes, just tell her this phrase and you will restore her memories," Gabe told me the day he released my mom. There is a way to make sure that a certain key phrase will restore a person's memories, as long as they are only suppressed, not taken. That was the phrase.

In the few seconds it took for Mom to register it all I sprinted inside the warehouse to hide long enough to make a plan.

Soon enough I had a plan, so I pulled out my phone and pressed a Light symbol in the contacts. A second later Sasha appeared in front of me.

Let me explain this. A week before this happened Sasha appeared before me, demanding if I was the one who updated the Stalker Sphere. I told her I was the person, and she requested I create a program to increase her citadel's computer security. It took me almost a week, and when I was done she promised me a favor. I didn't want to be using it so soon, but it was the only plan I could think of.

"What is the matter, Jacob?" Sasha asked me when she appeared. She appeared confused.

"I'm sorry it's so soon, but I need to call in that favor," I told her.

She nodded. "What is it you need me to do?" she asked.

"I need you to control the next Light Creature I summon," I requested.

"Of course," she said. Her Heart of Light allows her to control any Light creature.

"Cassiopeia Starborn!" I called. The dragon appeared in front of me.

"You must be a powerful duelist to summon a dragon this fearsome," she told me.

"Thank you," I added. I took as step back as she took over and shouted, "Dreadclaw, Dark Herald!"

"Why so you bring this creature into my presence?" she demanded.

"I'm sorry, but I need to make sure the enemy doesn't summon it against us. It feels weird for me to use a Darkness creature, too," I told her. "I need you to cover my back."

She nodded. Spending time with Gabe helps her understand human terminology. We went through the warehouse and destroyed the creature files, I recovered my weapons, and we tried to cause general havoc before leaving the warehouse, where five Flametropuses were waiting for us, one of them evolved.

"Oh, great," I muttered sarcastically as we dueled the creatures. Our dragons easily destroyed them and we took off.

When we got five blocks away I dismissed Dreadclaw.

"We need to get back to the Masters," I commented. Sasha nodded and gave control of Cassiopeia back to me so that I could dismiss it.

We hurried the rest of the way back to the Temple, where we ran past a very surprised Kimora and to the Masters' meeting room.

"What are you doing here?" Jameson demanded. Gabe was too busy talking with Sasha. "Why have you brought weapons here?"

"My cover was blown," I told them. "I was on my way home after training at the warehouse and a Snaptongue Lizard managed to grab me as it was banished, sending me to the Fire Civilization. I ran away from another creature and wandered through the Fire Civ for a while before I found Bob. Together, the two of us went to a point where I could cross over the Veil, but there were too many other creatures around. Instead, I asked Emma to see if she could summon Bob and get us out of there, but she was practically out of mana so I called Master Pierce so that he could summon Bob and rescue me."

"He's telling the truth," Emma said. She and John were walking up to us. She must have called John after I called her.

"Thanks," I told her. I turned to the Masters and continued. "When he summoned me it would've been best to return to my mother to keep up appearances, but when I got back they asked me how I was able to return to Earth. I told them I created a hole in the Veil, but they never taught me that, so I had to give up the act after that to avoid them capturing me, although I doubt my mother would let them do that."

"Did you at least discover anything about their plans during the time you had before being discovered?" Jameson demanded.

I lowered my head. "Other than the location of their warehouse, no," I told them.

"It's okay," Kimora assured me.

I nodded.

"We will need to find you a place to stay," Gabe said when he finished talking with Sasha and she left.

"Jake can stay with me again," John told the Masters.

"No," Jameson told us. "That is the first place they will look for Jacob. It is wisest if Jacob stays with one of the Masters so that he will be safe."

"Jake can stay with Allie and I," Ray suggested.

"Okay," Kimora said.

"Thank you, Master Pierce," I told them.

"No problem," he replied.

"We'll need to find you some new clothes, though," Allie commented, looking at my dirty clothes. My khaki shorts became practically black from crawling around in the Fire Civilization.

"We don't need to," I said, foolish plan forming in my head. "I've got an idea."

"I don't think this is a good idea," John commented after I explained my plan.

"Well, I want my stuff back," I replied. I still had my bag and skateboard, which managed to still survive without a scratch (don't ask me how).

We went up to the war room, where I activated my Stalker Sphere, which is in my room at home, and hooked up the feed to Panopter to view it so that I could remotely control the Sphere's mechanical arms so that I could remotely pack a suitcase with multiple pairs of clothes, all of my money and emergency cash, and anything else I might need.

Unfortunately the Sphere accidentally knocked over a lamp as it went around the room, so I made it rush to finish the packing.

As the Sphere left the room via the window my bedroom door was flung open to reveal my mother.

"Jake!" she screamed. She ran at the Sphere, but it sped up and went to where I was, going invisible when it reached town.

"Told you it would work," I said as I grabbed my bags from the Sphere.

"Yeah, yeah," John mumbled.

"Would you like to go now or later?" Ray asked me.

"Anytime's fine with me," I replied.

"Let's go now so that you have time to get settled," he told me.

I nodded and followed him out to his truck.

"Thanks for doing this for me," I said as the three of us went through the city.

"Anytime," he replied. "There are some base rules, though," he added.

"Okay.

"First, no dueling in the house. That rule's flexible, though, based on the circumstances. Second, lights out at ten, including creatures."

He went on with a basic set of rules similar to the ones at my house, like no shoes on the table, dirty shoes must be removed before entering the main part of the house unless you want to clean it up, and no loud music.

"Do you need me to repeat or explain anything?" he asked me when he finished.

"Nope. I think I've got it memorized," I replied.

"Kay," Ray replied. Allie was barely paying attention, looking out the window.

A couple minutes later we were at their house, a moderate-sized house with three bedrooms.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26—A Place to Stay

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* * *

"Which room do you want?" Ray asked when we walked in, pointing to the two rooms.

"What's up there?" I asked instead, pointing to a staircase with a door at the top.

"That's Ray's little project," Allie told me. "When we first bought the house it was just a bonus room, but Ray's spent all his spare time fixing it up, turning into a spare bedroom/man cave.

"It's empty, though," Ray told me. "It just needs some fixing-up."

"Cool," I said. I walked up the stairs and opened the doors to reveal a fairly large room. There was a futon against one wall, a few chairs scattered around, and other various decorations. The walls weren't painted and the windows were drafty, but overall it was a really nice room. It just needed a bit of work.

"Do you like it?" Ray asked me.

"Yeah. Can I stay in here?" I asked him.

"Sure. You might want to fix up a few things, though," he advised me. "I bought the materials needed, so they're in the closet," he added, pointing to a room next to the bathroom.

"Thanks," I replied. I placed my bags on a chair and looked through the closet. There were buckets of dark orange paint and painting supplies, and other things to fix the windows.

"We need to get back to the Temple," Ray told me. "Make yourself at home."

I nodded and waited for them to leave before grabbing my skateboard to meet with John and Emma.

"I'm sorry all this is happening to you," Emma said when we met at a diner.

"It's not your fault," I told her.

"I know, but I still feel bad about it," she said.

"Do you three know what you're going to order?" the waitress asked us as she approached.

"I'll have a burger and a Coke," John said.

"Burger and a water with lemon," Emma added.

"Vanilla milkshake, nothing else," I finished. The waitress wrote it down and walked away.

"Are you sure you don't want something more?" Emma asked, concerned.

I shook my head. "I'm sure," I told her. To be honest, I wasn't sure if I could handle the milkshake. This place makes milkshakes so thick you could tip over the glass and it won't budge.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" John asked me, looking me in the eye.

"Yeah," I sighed. "So, you guys ready for school?"

"Yeah," Emma said. "I just hope I'm ready for the chemistry test tomorrow."

"I'm sure we'll do fine tomorrow," John assured us.

We smiled as the waitress returned with our food and handed it to us. I needed a spoon for my milkshake, but it was really good.

"Hey, guys—" I began, but John clamped a hand over my mouth.

"Where are the rest of the customers?" he whispered to me as Emma froze.

I casually looked around and noticed that the previously full diner was empty.

"I have a bad feeling about this," I commented as I slowly pulled out my collapsed staff. "Do you guys have your gauntlets?"

"We didn't think we'd need them, so no," Emma hissed as Miles, Rob, and a few other enemy duelists walked in.

I pulled out my gauntlet and Dad's.

"I want them back when you're done," I told them. They pulled on the gauntlets and activated them in practice mode since they aren't Light duelists.

"So, I take it you're here to take me back," I commented loud enough for the duelists to hear me.

"Your mother actually wants us to leave you alone," Miles said. "This is just payback."

Rob laid a heavy hand on my shoulder, and when he did I spun around, expanding my staff so that I could push him back.

"You're not bad," Rob told me. "You forgot I trained you, though."

He pulled out a sword and swung it, almost getting past my staff.

"Summon creatures!" I told my friends as I tried to protect them from the duelists.

"It's too crowded in here to summon them," John told me.

I screamed, sending out a mana shield that launched the duelists outside of the diner's windows.

We followed them.

"Hornblade Dragon!" Miles shouted.

"Dreadclaw, Dark Herald!" Rob commanded.

"I don't know if Cassiopeia alone can deal with them," I said as the other duelists also summoned powerful dragons. None were strong enough to summon Cassiopeia, though.

"Ironvine Dragon!" John said.

"Bonerattle Dragon!" Emma commanded as well.

"When did you guys get dragons?" I asked them.

"We found their tablets and memorized them for emergencies," John explained.

"Awesome," I said. "Cassiopeia Starborn!" I shouted.

Together, our three dragons battled the six opposing dragons. The opposition was easily taken down, though, and we even had them on the run when we dismissed our creatures.

"You'd better run!" I yelled. Even though it was impossible to hit them from that distance, I picked up a rock and threw it as hard as I could at them.

It whizzed by Miles' ear.

"Must not know my own strength," I commented. I did notice that my mana levels were lower than usual, though.

"What was that about?" Emma asked me.

I explained to them what Mom told me once about the extra powers my abilities give me, including strength and speed.

"I just don't know how to access the powers," I told them.

"We can figure that out later," Emma told me. We walked back inside a placed a few bills on the counter. I grabbed my milkshake and they wrapped up their burgers in some napkins so that they could eat them on the go.

"What do we do now?" John said as they handed me back my gauntlets.

"We could go see a movie," I suggested.

"Let's…not," he said.

"Why not?" I asked him.

"The last time Emma and I saw a movie a couple Darkness creatures crashed the party. I will never look at clowns the same."

"Oh, come on," Emma told him. "It'll be fun. Besides, we can take any challenge they throw at us. We're acolytes, remember?"

He chuckled. "Sure. Let's go."

We went to the movie theater and bought three tickets for an action movie.

"I'll get the popcorn and drinks," I assured my friends when I saw Rob and Miles again from the corner of my eye.

"Are you sure you don't want help?" Emma asked me. She had noticed as well along with John.

"I'll be fine," I assured them. I still had my knives with me as well, so I was sure I'd have a good chance against them.

They tried to stay with me, but I ushered them towards the door.

"I'll be in there soon," I told them. They looked hesitant, but did it anyways.

"That was probably the dumbest thing you have ever done," Rob commented, walking up to one side as Miles went to my other side.

"You must not know me very well," I said.

"Yeah, yeah," Miles muttered. "Now, are you gonna come with us or are we gonna have to release a few dozen Evil Toys in here?"

I scowled at them. "I'll go with you," I growled at them. I felt my knives in their sheaths attached to my arm, and knew I could take them. I had Toji create the sheaths as well, created so that with a flick of my wrists the knives will be in my hands. They've never been tested, though.

They grabbed my arms and led me outside, where a van was waiting.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27—Kidnapped…?

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* * *

"That's about far enough," I said when people inside the theater couldn't see us. I activated my sheaths and the fighting knives launched into my hands. I managed to free my arms from their grasps and pushed them away with a mana shield.

"You guys ready for a second try?" I asked them, getting into a fighting stance.

They both drew a sword and swung at my head, but I rolled out of the way and slashed at their legs. I was satisfied by my right knife hitting Rob, drawing blood.

I continued fighting them for about thirty seconds before hitting them both on the temples, knocking them out.

"That's gonna hurt," I muttered, acknowledging a long cut on my right forearm. It wasn't deep, but really hurt. I ripped a sheet of fabric from one of their shirts and used it to bind the wound.

"What happened?" Emma asked me when I sat down beside her and John, arms loaded with drinks and popcorn I bought.

"It was nothing," I told her.

"Oh, really?" she hissed, touching the cut in my sweatshirt and the cut.

"It's nothing," I repeated, pulling my arm away. There was still some time before the movie began, so I handed out the popcorn and drinks.

"Okay, tell us what happened," John told me when we emerged after the movie into the darkness. It was nine o'clock, so we still had time before I had to be back at the house.

I explained to them what happened before the movie began, and when I was finished John and Emma didn't look happy.

"Why won't they leave you alone?" John asked me.

"They're pissed because I tricked them all," I replied. "It's probably going to take a long time for them to start calming down, if they ever do."

"Great," John muttered. "Well, I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Kay. See ya," I replied, taking off on my skateboard.

I arrived back at the house ten minutes before my curfew.

"Cutting it a bit close on your first day, aren't you?" Ray asked me when I walked in.

"I was seeing a movie with Emma and John," I told him.

"What happened to you?" Allie demanded. She must have noticed the cut and dirt on my face.

"It was nothing," I replied.

"You're hurt," Ray said, snatching my arm before I could pull it away. He pushed up the sleeve of my sweatshirt to reveal the cut, which was still bleeding lightly.

"Tell us what happened. Now," Allie demanded.

"Some of the enemy duelists got mad that I tricked them and went after me," I explained. "I injured one of them, but they managed to get me as well."

Allie sighed as she left to grab the first aid kit. Ray just smiled and pulled on his gauntlet.

"I don't get why she didn't do this," he commented as he used a healing spell on my arm.

"Thanks," I replied. All that was left afterwards was a pale pink scar, which soon faded.

"I found the first aid kit…" Allie began. When she saw my healed arm she just sighed and returned the kit.

"I just wish they hadn't torn my sweatshirt," I commented. "I really liked this one."

"Let me get that," Ray told me. He made sure Allie wasn't watching and somehow repaired the tear.

"How did you do that?" I asked him. "I didn't know you could use spells to repair fabric."

"Nobody else knows, so can we keep this a secret between us?" he asked me.

"Sure," I replied. We fist-bumped and I went upstairs to my new bedroom and spent five minutes figuring out how to flatten the futon before I found a switch. I hit it and pushed the futon into bed position before flicking the switch again to lock it there. I unfolded one of the lighter blankets and kicked off my shoes before summoning my Stalker Sphere to act as a security alarm before turning off the lights. I had the Sphere glow slightly so that I could have a source of light before setting my phone's alarm and falling asleep.

"How did you sleep?" Ray asked me the next morning as I walked downstairs the next morning, fully dressed.

"Good," I replied. It was far from the truth. I could barely get any sleep, no matter what I did. I tried extinguishing the light, making it brighter, opening the windows for a stronger breeze than the draft from the unsealed window, but nothing worked.

He nodded and pushed a fresh cup of coffee my way.

"I really look that tired, don't I?" I asked him. He nodded and unfolded a newspaper. There was an article on the front page about an uptake in random wildfires.

"Creature problems?" I asked him.

"Yeah. Most likely a Burn Belly species," he replied. "Expect work after school."

I nodded and finished the coffee, ate a quick breakfast and grabbed my stuff before leaving for school. I didn't bring my knives in case somebody found them, but still had my staff with me.

"Have a good day at school!" Allie shouted after me as I ran out and jumped on my skateboard, going full speed to prevent being late to school.

"You cut it a bit close today," the homeroom teacher told me when I slid into my seat a second before the bell rang.

"Sorry," I replied. She nodded and turned toward her computer.

Over the course of the school day nothing much happened. In gym class we crushed Miles' team for baseball and he wasn't very happy about it, but I didn't care.

After school, we went straight to the Temple and Ray brought us to the war room.

"There has been a recent report of small fires popping up all over the city," Gabe told us when we arrived. "We believe that it is a Fire Creature, so we're going to send you three to take care of it."

"Okay," I said. "I just summon Volaron and we squish it."

"No, you don't," Ray told us. "Because this creature is from the Fire Civilization, we will assign you creatures opposite to fire."

Gabe walked up to Emma and handed her a tablet for Buoyant Blowfish, gave John a tablet for Steamstar Grappalog.

"Due to your abilities with creatures, we are going to assign you a different civilization creature, and see how you handle it," Ray told me, handing me a Nature Civilization tablet. It was different than others, though. It was ice cold to the touch.

"A snow sprite?" John asked, reading the inscription on mine. "I thought one had never been summoned before.

"You are correct," Allie told us. "This will be a way to test Jacob's abilities. Snow Sprites were said to be nonexistent until Gabe found this tablet."

"Cool," I replied. We studied our tablets and handed them back for the summons. John and Emma performed theirs flawlessly, so I didn't want to disappoint.

"Snowstar Sprite!" I shouted, performing the stances. A portal appeared with a Nature symbol in the middle before a figure dressed all in white with a white mask flew through on a hoverboard. It wielded a staff.

"Wow, looks a lot like Dad when he dressed up as a Snow Sprite," Ray commented. Nobody commented on it, so I stayed silent.

"Where am I?" Snowstar demanded. He was a bit shorter than me, but with the hoverboard he was my height.

"You are in the human realm," I told it. "Don't worry, we won't hurt you."

It showed confusion before looking at me. "What do you want with me?" he asked. He sounded fairly young.

"We need your help to stop a rogue Burn Belly," I told him.

He looked at the two Water creatures then back at me. "But you have two Water creatures," he said with slight anger. Nature and Water don't get along well.

"Yes, and you need to work together to take down the Burn Belly," Gabe told him. "They're usually small creatures and fast, so you'll need to corner it in order to banish it."

"I still don't want to work with them," Snowstar said. Steamstar gurgled something and sprayed water at the Snow Sprite, but he just froze it with a blast from his staff.

"Let's make it into a competition, then," I said, eager to win over the creature. "The first person to defeat the creature with their original creature wins."

"What do we win?" Snowstar asked me.

"Bragging rights," I said simply. He considered it for a couple seconds before nodding.

"I will do this…competition," he told us. I sighed in relief and we left for the last site.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28—Finding a Burn Belly

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* * *

"This world is very different from mine," Snowstar commented when we got outside.

"Yes, but we need to focus on our target," I replied, pulling up the map of fires on my phone. "Does that hoverboard expand for two people?"

"No," he stated. I just shrugged and we took off. I jumped on my skateboard and led Snowstar.

"Hey, is it okay if I call you something other than 'Snowstar'?" I asked him when we were a block away from the last site. "It's a bit of a mouthful."

"What would you prefer to call me?" he asked.

"How about…Star?" I asked him.

He shrugged. "Sure. At least it's not something stupid like Bob."

I laughed. "Don't say that to Ray," I told him. "He nicknamed his creature Bob."

"Oh? What creature is this?" he asked me. He looked like he wanted to torment the creature over the name.

"Tatsurion the Unchained," I told him.

His shoulders sagged slightly. "Oh."

I smiled and we continued until we reached the site of the last fire, a Dumpster that was still lit up like a bonfire.

"Can you take that out?" I asked Star.

"Of course I can," he said. He held out his staff and the flames disappeared, replaced by a frozen Dumpster.

We were right about to begin a search when I got an alert of another fire.

"Let's go," I told him, jumping onto my skateboard. We went to the next site, another burning Dumpster, in time to see John arrive with his creature.

"How'd you get here so fast?" I asked him.

"I determined a pattern to determine the location of every new fire," he replied before taking off. We followed and arrived at the next site in time to watch the Burn Belly eat a phone book and light the Dumpster on fire.

"That's it!" I told Star. We set off and tried to destroy it, but a van got in our way, parking between us and the Burn Belly as the door on the opposite side of the van opened.

"Hey!" I yelled. I looked through the driver's side window and saw Rob at the wheel.

"Attack!" I told Star, guiding his staff into a position to freeze the engine.

"Why must you children always get in the way?" Rob demanded as he climbed out of the car. There was silence coming from the person with the Burn Belly.

"Force of habit," I replied. "What happened to your leg?" I added sarcastically. He walked with a slight limp, courtesy of me.

He just growled and summoned Dreadclaw.

"We need to try and take down the dragon in order to win the competition," I told Star. Star growled and took off, freezing various parts of Dreadclaw's body. Dreadclaw managed to hit Star with its poisonous breath, banishing Star.

"Star!" I shouted. I knew he wasn't dead, but I liked the little dude.

"Summon your dragon already!" John yelled as he tried to distract Dreadclaw with his creature.

"Right. Cassiopeia Starborn!" I shouted. I banished Dreadclaw with it before banishing Cassiopeia and summoning Shaw K'Naw to take care of the Burn Belly.

"Hand over the Burn Belly or I'll blind your cohort here!" I yelled, having Shaw K'Naw pin down Rob.

"I think not," said the one voice I did not want to hear.

"Mom," I gasped, staggering back a step as she walked around the van with the struggling Burn Belly in her hands.

"Thank you for driving this creature to us," she told me. "It escaped us when we summoned it."

"Jake, stop her!" John yelled at me. He summoned Tusker and held down Rob so that I could do what I needed. "NOW!"

His voice snapped me to attention. "Shaw K'Naw, take the creature!" I commanded. My creature swooped down and snatched the Burn Belly before Mom could create a shield. Shaw K'Naw destroyed the Burn Belly and returned to my shoulder.

"You shouldn't have dismissed your dragon," Mom told me. I saw a slight tear in her eye as she shouted "Cassiopeia Starborn!" and summoned my dragon.

"Oh, crap," I muttered.

"Ironvine Dragon!" John yelled. "Jake, summon a different dragon!"

I nodded and dismissed my creature before summoning another to refill my stores so that I could summon another dragon. I could only think of one, but it is insanely powerful. There was I chance I couldn't control it, but I had to try.

"Magma Dragon Melgars!" I shouted, pouring all my mana into the summons. The portal opened and, to my surprise, the dragon flew out and tackled Cassiopeia.

"Sorry, Cassiopeia!" I shouted as I commanded Melgars to destroy it, which he easily did with Ironvine Dragon's help.

"Dismiss your creature!" John told me once Cassiopeia was defeated. I barely had enough mana left to make sure it went back across the Veil before I collapsed.

"Jake!" I heard Mom shout faintly. She ran to me, but Ironvine got in the way, pushing her back to the van. She tried to go around the creature, but John kept her away while he transferred enough of his mana to me to ensure that I could continue.

"Aw, did I seriously miss all the fun?" Emma groaned when she arrived.

"Yep," I replied, standing up. "Let's go. Nobody won the competition. I used a different creature to destroy the Burn Belly."

"Oh well," Emma said, dismissing her creature. "Let's get smoothies, then."

"How is it you're thinking about smoothies at a time like this?" I asked her with a laugh. She just shrugged and we continued to a restaurant after Ironvine had been dismissed.

"Jacob!" I heard Mom shout as she ran to me. I created a shield just in time to keep her from getting close to me. "Please, come home," she pleaded.

"I'm sorry, but I can't," I told her. "What you are doing is wrong. The two sides of the Veil can't be reunited. It was put in place to end a war between humans and Kaiju creatures. If you remove it, there will be war again."

"No, there won't," she said. "We have a plan to ensure that there is no war."

"Whatever it is, it won't work," I told her before we left.

"Jake, are you alright?" Emma asked me, setting her hand on my shoulder when we reached the end of the block and turned.

"I'm fine," I snapped, pulling my arm away.

She stopped us where we were. "No, Jake, you're not," she said. "Doing what you're doing…it's not good on a person's mind. You betrayed your mother, but you insist that you're fine. If that's the truth then I'm a Light duelist."

"I'm fine," I repeated. I tried to get past them, but John blocked me.

"Emma's right," John told me. "If you keep bottling these emotions up, you'll eventually burst and do something you'll regret in the future."

"Fine! You wanna know how I feel?" I demanded. They both nodded. "I'm freaking out here!" I yelled. "I've had to betray my mom, lie to her, and almost kill in all in the span of a week!"

"Let's talk about this at the Temple," John hissed. "We don't want people overhearing and thinking the wrong things."

I was right about to continue on my tirade when he clamped a hand over my head and we set off for the Temple.

"You may continue on your speech now," John said, removing his hand. I did nothing but glare daggers at him.

"How did the mission go?" Kimora asked us as he approached.

"The mission was a success, Master Kimora," I said, looking away from John.

"There is no need to call me 'Master' anymore," he told us. "Just call me 'Kimora' from now on."

"Have you passed your title as Duelmaster down to someone?" John asked him.

"Yes," he replied. "The new Master returned from a year spent in the Nature Civilization with her creature to deal with some issues between the tribes."

"Cool. Where is she?" John asked him.

"She is currently in the war room," he told us. "The other Masters are reading her the rules and teaching her the tricks of the trade. Fortunately, I will keep my garden here at the Temple," he replied. "It's a good way for me to relax and distract myself now that I am no longer a Duelmaster."

"Cool," I said before we took off for the war room to meet the new Duelmaster.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29—The New Duelmaster

Thanks for the reviews! Don't forget to leave one at the bottom!

* * *

"Lucy," Kimora said when we arrived at the war room.

A woman standing next to Gabe turned to look at us. She looked Mexican-American, had very tan skin, and a bit shorter than Ray. Her clothes looked ragged and her hair was held back by some vines. Her brown hair looked raggedly cut, like she used a knife.

"Ah, you must be the new acolytes the other Masters have been talking about," she said.

"Yeah, that's us," John said. "I'm John, and these are Emma and Jacob."

She walked up to us and shook our hands. "You can just call me 'Lucy'," she said. "Everyone else does."

"Okay," we said.

"So, you're Jacob DiCarten?" she asked, walking up to me.

"Yep," I replied.

"The masters have told me about your story," she said. "I'm sorry about your mother."

I took a shuddering breath. "It's okay," I told her.

"About that," Emma said. "We destroyed the Burn Belly, but the enemy was there as well."

"Seriously?" Lucy asked us. "Why?"

"We don't know," I told them. "We destroyed their creatures and left, though, before anything else could be done."

"Good," Allie told us. "I'm sorry you had to fight your mother, Jake, but it has to be done."

I nodded and a thought occurred to me. "When they trained me, they taught me how to use weapons in case my creature is destroyed. The next time we face them, we may have to use those weapons. I won't be able to protect everyone, and mana shields won't be enough to protect all of us. What I'm saying is, I believe that acolytes should begin training in using weapons."

"No!" Jameson shouted the same time everyone else thought about it.

"Why not?" I asked Jameson. "It will be the best way for people to protect themselves in future duels against the enemy duelists."

"It goes against our rules!" he shouted.

"Seriously, Jameson?" Allie said. "I'm pretty sure Ray, Gabe and I pretty much made sure rules could change. We ended the rule about touching creatures. I'm pretty sure we can end some other rules."

"I believe that we should try this rule with us and a few chosen acolytes," Gabe suggested. "Think of it as a trial period. If things don't work out, we stop. If it _does_ work, we begin integrating it into our training."

Jameson scowled, but agreed to it. "Fine, we can do that much," he said.

"Who will volunteer to do this, though?" Lucy asked, turning to us.

"We volunteer for this test," John and Emma said.

"What about you, Jacob?" Allie said.

"I was the one who suggested the original idea, so of course I'm in!" I said.

"Where will we find enough weapons, though?" Kimora asked.

"Good question," Gabe said.

"Toji could make the weapons for us," Ray said.

"He's too busy making improvements to gauntlets," Jameson told us.

"The warehouse," I said suddenly.

"What?" John demanded.

"The warehouse my mom's group is based out of," I said. "It has a huge armory full of weapons. I could sneak in there, grab weapons, and sneak out through the Veil. If we time it right, they'd probably never know we were there."

"Absolutely not!" Allie told me. "If you get caught, they'll never let you go. If Rob or Miles catches you, you will die."

"They won't, though," said a voice behind us as someone stepped through the Veil. I turned and saw Michael, one of the people in mom's group.

"Don't move," I growled, drawing my knives.

"Whoa, I'm not here to fight," he said, raising his hands. "Ever since you showed your true colors and left, I've been thinking things over. If the Veil were to be destroyed, nothing we could do would protect us. The only thing that would help us would be to not destroy the Veil in the first place. After I left the warehouse I created a hole in the Veil and traveled here.

"He tells the truth," Jameson said. He did something with Panopter and the recording of Michael's story popped up along with some lines of code proving his truth.

"So…this is the Temple…" Michael said.

"Yeah," I replied. "It's good to see you again, this time on the good side," I added, shaking his hand.

"Thanks, man," he replied. We shook hands and turned to the Masters to see what they meant.

"We believe that you want to change sides," Ray told him. "Before you can be fully trusted, though, you must start at the lowest level of acolyte. We will begin training you tomorrow."

"What did you mean when you said they wouldn't catch me?" I asked him.

"They don't know I've left them," he said. "You can go there disguised as me and take the weapons. I can tell you everything you need to know via com device."

"This sounds so cool," Emma said. "It's like a spy movie or something like that."

"Yeah," John agreed.

"I still think this shouldn't be done," Jameson said. "This puts everything on the shoulders of one acolyte, whose mother is our enemy."

"Do you seriously doubt me?" I demanded. "After everything I've done? I betrayed my mother for Kaijudo! I had to leave home because of this!"

"You're listing reasons for us to doubt you," Jameson said calmly.

I snarled and rushed at him. I moved faster than normal and pinned him against Panopter, my knives at his throat. "Never doubt me," I hissed at him. "I did all of those things because I believe in the things you're doing."

"Jacob!" Michael yelled, pulling me off of Jameson with strength greater than I knew he had.

"How were you able to get me off him?" I asked him.

"You're not the only one who can access extra abilities," he told me.

"What are you talking about?" Jameson demanded.

"People like us, we have extra abilities," Michael told them. "Once we have enough experience, we can use our mana to increase our strength and speed."

"Why haven't you told us this before?" Jameson yelled at me.

"You never asked," I snapped. A vein in his forehead was standing out, so I knew I was pushing him very far.

"Everyone, calm down," Allie said, walking between us. "Jacob, respect Master Jameson. Master Jameson, calm down."

I sneered at Jameson but slid my knives back in their sheaths.

"I believe that Jacob's plan is the best we have," Ray said. "It gives us the highest chance of gaining the most weapons. It is very reckless, which is why we will be waiting on the other side of the Veil for him. If he does not return after five minutes, we will go in after him."

"It's actually a really good idea, compared to Ray's past plans," Gabe commented.

"Th-Hey!" Ray said. Gabe just chuckled.

"When can we do this?" Lucy asked us.

"I can call in saying I have to take half a day off, so you'll have to do it after school," Michael told me.

"I'll have to go to the Temple first so that we can set it up, but it sounds good," I replied.

"Looks like it's settled," Gabe said while Jameson frowned deeply.

"You are welcome to leave now," Ray told us. "Make sure to be ready for the journey tomorrow, though."

We nodded and left the Temple while Michael stayed behind.

"I think you just made an enemy out of Master Jameson," Emma told me.

I shrugged. "I could take him," I said.

"You shouldn't want to," John told me. "He is very dangerous, and you don't go against the Masters."

I nodded. "I'll try, but it's also Jameson. That guy…he presses my buttons," I replied.

"We know," Emma said.

We dropped the conversation and walked over to a nearby diner for dinner.

"What is it with you guys and diners?" I heard a voice say as we walked by a person sitting at the counter. We turned at saw Rob sitting there, holding a cup of coffee.

"Not now, Rob," I told him as we found a booth to sit at. He just shrugged and continued drinking his coffee.

"What would you three like to drink?" the waitress asked as she walked up to us.

"Iced tea," John said.

"Coke," Emma added.

"Root beer," I finished. She nodded and wrote it all down before walking away.

"How do you think we did today on the chem. test today?" Emma asked us.

"We probably did great," John said cheerfully.

"Yeah, of course you did well," Emma said. "You two always get good grades. I always struggle with this stuff."

"You always do great," John told her. "You just need to calm down during tests and believe in yourself."

She nodded as the waitress came back with our drinks. They were all served in glass bottles, still very cold.

"Have you decided what you would like to eat?" she asked us.

"Burger," Emma said.

"Make that two," I said.

"Actually, make it three," John added. She nodded and wrote it down again before walking away to the kitchen.

"I'll pay for lunch today," I told the others, making sure I had enough money.

"Okay," Emma said. We chatted for about fifteen more minutes before the waitress walked up to us with our burgers and fries, which came with the burgers.

"Thank you," we told her. She nodded and walked away to help other customers.

"So, are you guys ready for school tomorrow?" I asked them.

"Heck yeah!" Emma said. "It's the last day of school! Why wouldn't we be?"

"Good question," I replied.

"I could think of a reason for you to miss school," Rob said, slipping into the booth behind me.

"Rob, shut up," I hissed.

He just chuckled and continued. "Without school, you'll have all day to think about how you have nobody. Your father's dead, you betrayed your own mother, and you have nobody else."

"He has his friends," John said, "so unless you want to get very hurt, I suggest you leave. Now."

Rob just laughed again and walked out after leaving a bill on the counter.

"Don't worry about him," Emma told me. "You have us. Eat your burger."

I took a deep breath and sighed before finishing my burger and fries.

"Would like anything else to eat?" the waitress asked us a few minutes later.

"No, thanks," we replied. She handed us the bill and I gave her the right amount of money before leaving.

The next day, school felt like it dragged on forever. We emptied our lockers into bags at the end of the day and went to our houses before going to the Temple to begin the first part of the break-in.


End file.
